TheGoblin Mirror
by Grelber
Summary: A sequel to the movie, set about a year later.


Long, long ago, the King of the Goblins, who was a powerful wizard, made a mirror. It was a magic mirror: it did not reflect the person in front of it as the world saw them; instead, it reflected and magnified their worst qualities. The Goblin King used it to sow discord and hatred among mankind, increasing his own power. Ultimately, he set out to subjugate all the peoples of the world, leading his army, with the mirror carried before it. He won many victories, and conquered many lands.

One day, in the high passes of the mountains, his army was attacked and before he could turn the mirror on his foes, one of the boulders they rolled down towards his army struck the mirror and smashed it into thousands and thousands of pieces. The goblin army fled, and the Goblin King, who had poured so much of his strength and magic into the mirror died soon afterwards.

Though the mirror was shattered, its pieces survived. Some washed down the stream, and when they were found, they brought misery to the finders. Other, smaller pieces were caught up by the wind, blown hither and yon, and they also brought great sorrow to the world.

The Snow Queen's Daughter

"Come on!" Anna cried. For half an hour, Elsa had been following Anna up the trail into the mountains behind the town of Arendelle. She was excited to be out of the castle and away from her office and tending to the country's business, but also felt a bit guilty that she wasn't at her desk getting her work done. Still, Anna assured her they were only going a little bit further. Finally, they came to a grassy area surrounded by woods. A stream flowed through it and plunged off a cliff at one end in a spectacular fashion.

Elsa paused to catch her breath for a moment, then stood and looked around. "It's a beautiful view, Anna. Is that why you brought me here?"

"Nope, I wanted to talk to you, in private."

Elsa looked up at her sister, a little surprised. "Well, I think you've gone a bit overboard on the privacy thing. We could have been alone in one of the rooms at the castle."

"You know, you're my favorite sister, but sometimes you can be a party poop."

"I'm your only sister! And I have a life and job that doesn't leave much time for hikes in the mountains for secret conversations."

"Are you sorry you came?" There was a note of concern to Anna's question.

Elsa looked around, at Arendelle Castle far below, "No, not really, it is an incredible view." She put her arm on Anna's shoulder. "I suppose it's good to get away from all the laws, proclamations, documents and what not, too. It's just that if I'm here doing this, I'm not down there getting that done. " She sighed, and turned to face her sister. "OK, what did you want to talk about?"

"Love, of course."

"Of course!" Elsa shook her head, and smiled at her sister, who was still very much the romantic. "Are we going to talk about how you and Kristoff are so very much in love or about how I should be?"

"Both are interesting topics and we could discuss either one for hours. However, unless you want to talk about yourself, I had a different problem to discuss with you."

"No, Anna, I don't wish to discuss my lack of a love life. I've explained it to you before: nobody wants to marry a girl who might just turn them into an icicle if they have a tiff." She paused, hoping to convey an air of finality to that particular topic. She had learned that it wasn't politic to tell others that her magical powers made a marriage very unlikely, at least in her opinion. This was something she only felt safe sharing with Anna.

"I think you're wrong, that you've learned to control your emotions and your magic, and if the guys out there don't know a great girl when they meet one, it's their loss." Anna and Elsa had been over this before. It was one of the few subjects on which they disagreed.

Rather than argue with Anna on a subject where they had both stubbornly staked out their positions, Elsa returned to the original topic. "OK, so who's love life did you want to talk about," she said, selecting a convenient rock to sit down on.

"It's Olaf. Have you noticed how the clouds of his snow flurry have become darker lately?" Elsa thought for a few seconds, then shook her head. "He doesn't sing as much as usual?" Again, Elsa shook her head. "Doesn't bounce when he runs?" Once more, Elsa shook her head, starting to feel bad that she had been too busy to notice when a friend had problems. "Well, I noticed all these things, and I think he'd like to be in love like Kristoff and me and is unhappy not to have anybody."

"Olaf is, umm," Elsa searched for the word, "unique. Who are you planning to fix him up with?" Elsa wasn't at all sure Olaf needed a special someone in his life, but decided it was safer to discuss that than her own lack of romantic prospects.

"We-e-e-e-ell, I don't exactly have anybody lined up just yet."

Elsa paused a moment, "Wait, so we hiked all the way up here just to discuss a hypothetical situation?"

"Of course not! I wouldn't drag you away from your precious laws, proclamations, and documents for that, though you do need to get out more. You see, Olaf really needs somebody, and that's where you come in. I thought you could make a snowwoman for him." Elsa just stared at her, not knowing what to say, so Anna pressed ahead, perhaps mistaking shock for agreement. "I mean, I'll help, too. Here," she said, unslinging her backpack, and opening it. "Look, I brought coals for eyes, pebbles for buttons and three different carrots for her nose, so we can pick the best one, sticks for her arms, and this yellow yarn wig, and some ribbon." She picked up three of the pebbles and began to juggle them.

"I don't know, Anna." She could see how enthusiastic her sister was about the project, though.

"Sure, it'll be great! I can help you design her. Besides, you want to see your friend Olaf happy, don't you? Oh, and I thought of a name for her: what do you say to Swanhild? You know, because she'll be white, like a swan."

Elsa was rather overwhelmed by Anna's enthusiasm for the project; she wanted to slow down and think the whole thing through. "Well, it isn't a name I was saving in case I had a daughter," she said in an effort to be tactful.

Picking up on her sister's lack of enthusiasm, Anna came back with, "Well, what about Sunniva, then?"

"Anna, I just . . ."

"OK, OK, let's just put the name thing off for now. Do you think you could do it—make Olaf a snow lady friend?"

"I suppose," she said hesitantly.

"Great! Let's get started!"

Elsa still had misgivings about the project, and would have liked to take the time to consider the possible side effects of making more snow people or what to do if the two snow people didn't get along, but after having closed her sister out of her life for years, she really wanted to please her when she could. So, she shut her eyes and began to visualize a snowwoman. A cold wind sprang up, swirling around the little grassy area, making the loose ends of the ribbon flutter; Anna dropped the pebbles and hurried to keep the ribbon and the wig from blowing away altogether. Then the wind was filled with snowflakes, swirling around and around, and coalescing to become a snowwoman.

"No, no, you've made her too tall!"

Elsa looked at her creation, cocked her head to the side, nodded in agreement, the wind howled louder than before, and the snowwoman's height decreased an inch or so.

"Oh, dear! She looks so skinny! Maybe just a tad bigger around? After all, snow people aren't supposed to be scrawny—it makes them look half melted."

The wind whipped up again, adding snow to her waist.

"Good, Elsa—that's just . . . beautiful!" Anna paused a moment, hands together, and sighed.

Anna rushed around, putting in the eyes, buttons and arms. She held up the carrots to the snowwoman's head, one by one, "Which one do you think looks best with her profile?"

Elsa was still a bit overwhelmed by the whole thing, but concentrated, "The last one, but you need to turn it clockwise just a little." She gestured with her hands, to show what she had in mind.

Anna adjusted the nose, then put the wig on the snowwoman, tied it with the ribbon, and stood back to admire their creation. She stepped forward again and brushed off a couple rough spots in the snow.

Elsa watched her sister, making sure she was pleased with the results, then performed two more bits of magic: first, bringing the snowwoman to life, then giving her a snow flurry of her very own to keep her from melting.

The result was surprising: the snowwoman shook all over, sending up a small cloud of snowflakes that sparkled in the sun. She moved her right arm, turned her head to look at it, then her left, turning to look at it, and smiling. She lifted up a leg, and looked down to see what had happened. She lifted up the other leg, without putting the first leg down, and fell over. She bounced back to her feet, looking around to see if anyone had noticed, and was dismayed to find Anna and Elsa watching her.

She looked back at the two sisters, then said, "Hi! Who are you?"

"My name is Elsa. I made you," Elsa told her politely.

"So-o-o-o-o that makes you my mother, right?"

Elsa was taken aback. She looked around, perhaps hoping to find another candidate for the post of snowwoman's mother, then said, "Umm, well, yes, I guess so."

The snowwoman turned towards Anna. "Hi, I'm Anna. I'm Elsa's sister, which makes me your aunt!" Clearly, Anna was adapting to the new relation situation faster than Elsa was.

"Hi, Mom, hi, Aunt Anna! I'm . . . umm, I'm not sure who I am."

"Oh, we hadn't named you, yet," replied Anna. "We were just discussing that."

"Well, I hope you pick a pretty name, because I feel very pretty."

"We were just trying to decide. I thought Swanhild or Sunniva would be nice," said Anna sweetly, in an attempt to enlist the snowwoman's support.

The snowwoman made a face like she'd just swallowed a spoonful of cod liver oil. Anna looked surprised at the response, but Elsa shrugged her shoulders, "OK, we'll keep working on the name."

Then, Elsa turned to her sister and whispered, while the snowwoman investigated a puffball mushroom. "OK, matchmaker, what's your plan? Do we take her down now and introduce her to Olaf?"

"Oh, no! That was another reason for choosing this place. It is so romantic, the view of Arendelle and the fjord and all! You and I ask her to stay behind, then we go back down, and I'll bring Olaf up here, and they meet and fall in love!" She put her hands together and sighed, blissfully.

"You seem to have it all planned out. I hope you don't try to plan out my life this way!" Elsa smiled and shook her head in pretended dismay.

"Just wait, big sister! I'll find a husband for you."

"Maybe I'd rather find one for myself!"

"So you admit you do want a husband! Gotcha!"

Elsa sighed and shook her head again, then looked around: the snowwoman had almost disappeared into the woods in pursuit of mushrooms. "Whoa, whoa, whoa there, daughter!" It felt odd, but she didn't know what else to call her new creation. She chased after the snowwoman. "We don't want you wandering off and getting lost. Listen, your Aunt Anna and I need to go down into Arendelle now. Could you stay right here? Maybe you could help us think up a name while you wait. Your Aunt Anna and one of her friends will come back for you soon, OK?"

"Sure!"

Elsa had had enough experience with Olaf that she explained a second time, "You understand you just need to wait here for somebody to come get you, right?"

"Yep!"

"OK, well goodbye for now, and I'll see you later."

"See you soon, niece! Don't forget, I'll be bringing a friend for you to meet!"

She waved and the snowwoman waved back.

Anna chatted happily all the way back to town, certain that the snowwoman would put the spring back in Olaf's step. Elsa certainly hoped so, but quietly worried that Olaf and the snowwoman wouldn't hit it off at all.

By the time they returned to the castle, Elsa was ready for a nap, but there was no time for that, so she and Anna had a late lunch, and then she got back to work on affairs of state.

Anna went in search of Olaf who, it turned out, was nowhere to be found. After an hour of looking, she decided she'd just have to get Kristoff and go back up for the snowwoman. Together, they could climb up to the little waterfall and bring the snowwoman back to meet Olaf. Not nearly as romantic a plan, of course, but they might be able to arrange a romantic meeting at the castle.

When they got to the little grassy area with its waterfall, the snowwoman was nowhere to be seen. Anna pointed this out, "Oh, no, she's not here! We told her to stay put. Where'd she go? Kristoff! Kristoff, do you see her? Can you see her footprints?" Anna was worried; this wasn't at all what she'd planned.

Kristoff said calmly, "I'll look for them and see what I can find." Though Kristoff found some roundish spots of crushed grass, it soon became apparent that there were few prints to be seen in the rocky ground outside the clearing. He did find some prints near the cliff, and peered over. "She might have leaned out to see where the water went and fallen over. I don't see anything down there, though. "

Anna joined him at the edge of the cliff. "Oh, boy! What am I going to tell Elsa?"

"I wonder if she could have melted away by now." Anna gave him a look of displeasure that he would even suggest that her new niece might have met such an unfortunate fate. Kristoff couldn't miss that signal, and said, "Err, probably not; it isn't warm enough. Here, let me look around the clearing again." He searched around once more, bent over closer to the ground. In a couple spots, he dropped down to crawl on his hands and knees. Finally, he started to crawl into the woods, away from the clearing. Anna followed him, then he turned and smiled up at her. "See, Anna, here are your snow lady prints. They're round and shallow. But look at this—paw prints from the rear feet of a rabbit. She saw the rabbit, was curious, and followed it off. I'll bet she's fine!"

"Whew! So we can just follow the tracks and find her, right?"

"Well, she and the rabbit scrambled up on this area of bare stone, and there are no footprints. I'll look around and see I what I can find," he added hastily.

They looked around. They found a hole in the ground between two large rocks, where the rabbit might have lived, but there were no more snow lady prints. They shouted for her, calling "Snowwoman! Snowwoman!" but there was no answer.

Finally, Kristoff pointed out, "We need to head back; it will be dark before we get to the castle as it is."

Anna reluctantly agreed, and they headed sadly back down the mountain.

Anna had to report the loss to her sister. Kristoff loyally stood beside her, and explained they had followed the snowwoman's tracks, and were certain she had just wandered away and hadn't fallen off the cliff. Elsa was definitely concerned. The snowwoman's assertion that Elsa was her mother might not be strictly true in a biological sense, but came close enough to the reality of the situation to make Elsa feel responsible for her. She asked Anna and Kristoff if they had any ideas about how to find the snowwoman. Both volunteered to go up looking again tomorrow. Anna even volunteered to go up the next day, as well, but Elsa pointed out she had other commitments.

"Anna, day after tomorrow, parliament takes up the issue of your marriage to Kristoff. We've been over this. You both need to be around, in case they want to ask any questions." They both nodded; of course they hoped parliament would quickly approve the match; they also hoped they didn't have to appear in front of either house of parliament.

"And the next day, Anna, we have the twice monthly public court session, and as my heir, you have to be there, standing loyally beside me."

Anna looked like she'd been hoping Elsa wouldn't remember this, but said, "Yes, of course, wouldn't miss it."

"For tomorrow, do you need anything? Horses, supplies, perhaps some of the guard to help look?"

Anna and Kristoff looked at each other, and he answered, "I thought we'd take Sven; he'll do better on the mountain trails than a horse. We'll need some food, of course, and maybe two of the soldiers to help look."

Elsa nodded and the two of them scuttled out to make preparations for the next day.

Chasing rabbits

The snowwoman had stayed in one place after Anna and Elsa left. Well, at least for about a quarter of an hour. Then, she saw a rabbit grazing just outside the clearing. She walked over closer, and said, "Hi." The rabbit sidled away. The snowwoman moved closer again, and asked, "Are you the friend Aunt Anna was going to bring back with her? Is Aunt Anna coming?" The rabbit didn't answer; in Arendelle, rabbits aren't chatty. "You know, it isn't polite to ignore people when they talk to you, even if your mouth is full of food." The rabbit eyed her nervously. She took two steps towards the rabbit. It broke and ran, first to the right, then it zigzagged back to the left. The snowwoman ran after it. The rabbit ran behind a rock. The snowwoman followed, but when she got there, the rabbit was nowhere to be seen. After a couple minutes of looking around and peering down a hole between two rocks that looked too small for a rabbit to fit down, she headed off further into the woods. The rabbit poked its twitching nose out of the hole to see her turn aside to investigate a tree with a peculiarly shaped trunk, twisted by the wind, perhaps. A woodpecker hammered against a tree trunk, and she headed off to see what that was. By the time night fell, she was completely lost and had no idea where the clearing with the waterfall was.

It was well after dark the next day when the searchers returned, glum, exhausted, hungry, and soaked through. Kristoff had warned Anna early in the afternoon that a storm was coming up, but she insisted on continuing the search. In part, this was because she knew the rain would wash away any tracks that were out there, but mainly because she didn't want to fail her sister. Elsa bustled about, arranging warm food, hot drinks and dry clothes for Anna, Kristoff and the soldiers, and a dry stall for Sven. They all went to bed feeling very depressed about the situation.

Olaf's Quest

Today was the big day when parliament was supposed to decide whether or not to allow Anna to marry Kristoff. Elsa was out doing her morning walk around the castle grounds, trying to think of something else she could have done to help secure support for her sister's marriage, when Olaf bounced into the courtyard. He looked around, saw Elsa and rushed over to greet her. It turned out he had been off visiting the trolls. He told Elsa all about the trolls, and their doings. She let him finish with his news, then explained to him, "Olaf, I have a problem. You see, we thought you must be lonely with no other snow people to talk to, so I made a friend for you. When we came to tell you about it, you had gone off to see the trolls, and when we went back to tell the snow person, she was gone. Anna and Kristoff searched for her, but couldn't find her. So, I wondered if you could look for her. You know how snow people think and where she might have gone."

"You made a friend, for me?" His expression was a cross between happiness that he might have a new friend, and distress that one snowman friend wasn't enough for Anna and Elsa.

"Yes, we really thought you needed a friend."

"OK, then, I'll go search." He turned back towards the gate.

"Wait, Olaf, do you need anything? Probably not food, or blankets but maybe something else?"

He paused, thinking. "I don't have a hat. I think I need a hat."

Elsa was taken aback (a frequent situation when dealing with Olaf), but led him up to the castle attic, where many odd things were stored. He poked around until he found a furry cap with a ringed tail hanging down behind. Elsa remembered her father's cousin sending it to them as a souvenir of his trip to the New World: nobody had known quite what to do with it. Still, Olaf was happy; he put the cap on and bounced towards the gate, Elsa following at a brisk pace. She stood by the gate and waved good-bye to him, hoping the quest she'd sent him on worked out well.

Parliament's Decision

That afternoon, Elsa sat in her study, waiting. As Queen of Arendelle, there were things she could do and things she could not do. Right now, she faced an issue she couldn't control. She had to wait for parliament to vote on whether or not to allow her sister Anna to marry Kristoff, the Ice Master.

The Prime Minister, Mr. Bjornson, had been working with the members of parliament, trying to convince them to vote in favor of the marriage. The problem was that Kristoff was not a prince, or even a duke or an earl: he was an orphan of unknown background, and many did not consider it fitting that he should marry a princess, particularly one who was the queen's heir, and whose children might become king or queen in time.

In the year since Elsa's coronation, she had gotten to know Kristoff, she liked him, she knew he loved Anna, and she had given the couple her blessing. Most of the members of parliament had not had her opportunity to get to know Kristoff, and did not approve of the arrangement.

While Kristoff had usually behaved properly and kept in the background whenever he could, he had sometimes created problems. Elsa knew he wasn't interested in marrying Anna for wealth or rank—she thought that was a good thing and she respected him for his position. Still, two weeks ago, with Mr. Bjornson's full approval, she had offered to make him a baron, partially hoping this would help with the upcoming vote on the marriage. Kristoff, however, had thanked her, then explained carefully that he did not need to be bribed to marry the girl he loved. Elsa, Anna, and Mr. Bjornson had accepted this answer, Anna had even hugged him. While the members of the Chamber of Citizens accepted this, some members of the Chamber of Nobles saw this as an indication that Kristoff felt he was too good to become a mere baron, was holding out for something better, a count or earl perhaps, and would certainly expect to be made a prince when he married Anna. Others feared that it meant he was an anarchist, anxious to get rid of all lords, princes and kings or queens. Either way, people were offended and likely to vote against the proposed marriage.

Kristoff wasn't the only one who had said or done the wrong thing. Anna's brief engagement to Prince Hans of the Southern Isles convinced many who really didn't know her that she was flighty and easily swayed.

After the fiasco of her coronation ball, and the departure of all the princes, dukes and earls, Elsa had told several people that no man would want to marry a woman who might freeze them, if she lost her temper. This was taken by many to mean that she had given up any hope of marrying and producing an heir, confirming that Anna's children would inherit the throne, thus making a proper marriage for Anna all the more important.

So, Elsa sat at her desk, waiting, nervously pretending to read a document, trying to stay calm.

Finally, there was a knock on the door, and Mr. Bjornson came in. One look at his face, and she knew things had not gone well. She waved him to a seat and waited for his report.

"I'm afraid, your majesty, that less than half of the members of each house voted in favor of the marriage."

She tried to remain calm. "Is there anything we can do to convince them to change their minds? Perhaps I could invite several of them over and explain why I gave them my blessing?"

"If the vote had been closer, perhaps, but as it is, no, your majesty. I understand you want to help your sister, and you count the Ice Master as a friend, but there are limits to what you can personally do to sway the members of Parliament. We've been over this before."

They sat silently for a few minutes.

"Your majesty, I could sound out some of the members on the issue of a morganatic marriage. It does answer most of their concerns."

"Excuse me?"

"Morganatic marriage, your majesty. It means that Princess Anna would remain your heir, but neither Kristoff nor their children could inherit the throne. Instead, should you remain childless, after Princess Anna, the crown would go to the children of your Aunt Agnetha, your father's sister. Of course, both you and Princess Anna would have to agree."

"No, I couldn't do that to Anna. I couldn't disinherit my nephews and nieces who haven't even been born."

She thought a moment. "Since they don't want Kristoff's children to inherit the throne, perhaps if I were to marry . . . somebody, they would give Anna and Kristoff their approval."

He gave her a look that said he clearly did not approve of the turn her thoughts had taken.

"Mr. Bjornson," she said with determination, "could you and the council prepare a list of the most eligible princes, dukes and lords for me to look over?"

He shuffled through the pile of papers he held, then pulled one out. "We have already prepared a list of the top 20 candidates, your majesty."

She reached out to take it but he drew it back. "You must understand that I do not approve of a rash marriage on your part, your majesty."

She reached for it again, and again he pulled it back. "In the long run, this would not be good for either you or Princess Anna. If your marriage did not work well, you would resent having given up your chance at happiness for your sister. Princess Anna is no fool, and sooner or later she would realize what you'd done and feel guilty at what her marriage had cost you personally." He let her take the paper.

Elsa started reading the list. "The first name here is Prince Hans' brother!"

"Six of Prince Hans' brothers are on the list, your majesty: they are among the most eligible young men on the continent. Five others are already married and one was considered thoroughly unsuitable, as was Prince Hans."

"Thank you for leaving him off, at least." She was unable to keep just a slight trace of sarcasm out of her voice.

She picked up her pen and drew lines through six names. She looked at another name, shook her head, and drew another line. Mr. Bjornson thought "Thirteen left." Elsa shivered all over, made a face, and drew two very firm lines through the next name. "Twelve."

"Duke Eamon of West Hibernia—he came for my coronation and spent three days inspecting the stables and kennels. They met with his approval, but I didn't after I froze the fjord. I think we can cross him out."

"Eleven."

So it went, as Elsa lined out one name after another. At one name, she paused a moment, looking puzzled, then moved on to line out another name. In truth, she wasn't happy with the idea of having to marry somebody she didn't love. She liked Mr. Bjornson, and respected his opinions very much, and it was hard for her to press on with what she increasingly realized was a wayward course of action. Finally, she slipped the paper in the small trash basket under her desk.

"One still," thought Bjornson, looking puzzled, then went back and counted on his fingers to make sure. Elsa didn't notice because she was up and pacing.

"So what do we do?"

"Wait, your majesty. If I'd been asked about Princess Anna marrying the Ice Master a year ago, I would have voted against it, too. I've gotten to know him and I have a great deal of respect for that young man." Mr. Bjornson was over 60; at some time or the other, he described practically everybody as "young," even the chief cook, Mrs. Ostrander, who was 55.

"I suppose so. Thank you very much, Mr. Bjornson. I know you did the best you could."

"Would you like me to break the news to Princess Anna, your majesty?"

"No, thank you, she's my sister. I'll do it."

Bjornson rose and left.

Twenty minutes later, Anna bounced in. She was, as always, confident that her big sister could solve any problem. A very somber looking Elsa rose to greet her. Anna realized that things had not gone well.

"I am so, so sorry, Anna." Anna's older sister hugged her.

"What do we do now?"

"Mr. Bjornson says we should wait, and give more members of parliament an opportunity to get to know Kristoff."

"That could go on for years!"

"Well, yes." This thought had crossed Elsa's mind, too.

"Kristoff and I could run off, elope!"

"I'm afraid that would be viewed as very disrespectful and extremely irresponsible; parliament would probably vote not to allow either of you back in the country for fifty years or so. Besides, I am looking forward to attending your wedding. I want to be a bridesmaid!"

Anna hugged her sister; it was good to have a friend and sister in bad times. Anna started to pace, trying to find a way out of their problem. Elsa sat down; she would have liked to pace too, but there wasn't room. The pacing took Anna away from the desk, then brought her back toward the desk. The second time she came back, she saw the paper in the trash can, and made a dive for it. Elsa saw her, and tried to grab the paper first. She wasn't fast enough: Anna stood up and began to read the paper.

"This is a list of men you could marry. You wanted to find somebody to marry so Parliament would stop being so concerned about what I did."

Elsa hung her head.

Anna bent over the desk. "Elsa, I want you to promise me you won't foolishly marry somebody you don't love, just to help Kristoff and me."

Elsa started to argue, to tell her younger sister that SHE was the queen, and nobody—certainly not her little sister-was going to tell her what she could and could not do. She stood up, drew herself up to her full height, looked her sister in her eyes, saw the look on her face, then slumped and turned around. "You can see I drew lines through every name. Anna, I envy you and Kristoff so much. I'd give almost anything to be in love like you are! So, I couldn't bring myself to marry somebody I didn't love, not even for you, Anna. Besides, Mr. Bjornson disapproved also, and generally made me feel like a little child who was being willful and stubborn and wanted her own way."

Anna suppressed an urge to hug her sister, and comfort her. She also saw there was one name on the list not lined out, but ignored that. "Promise me!"

Elsa looked sad. "Alright, I promise."

"And you know I'll hold you to that promise?"

"Yes, Anna, I know you will," she said with resignation.

"I know you'll find a way to work things out in the end." Anna hugged her sister.

"I wish I had your confidence!"

Anna turned to go.

"Anna, would you and Kristoff please come to dinner with me in my chambers tomorrow night? Aside from your company, I'd like to show everyone that I still believe in the two of you."

"Of course!" She was always happy to help her sister, and particularly so today, after the twin disasters of the missing snowwoman, and parliament's rejection of her marriage.

Anna closed the door behind her, then stopped, leaning against the wall, to look at Elsa's list: she had no idea who the one candidate that wasn't lined out might be, number 13, Etzel Johan Fishar, Prince of Lejonskoping. She made a mental note to ask Mr. Bjornson about him, just in case.

Johan and the Bandits

Etzel Johan Fishar, Prince of Lejonskoping was not having a good day. Oh, it had started off well enough, sun rising in a lovely blue sky, the sunlight gilding the edges of the few clouds that were about. Birds were singing, he fixed a delightful breakfast over his campfire, which he ate happily, cleaned up and set off following the trail of some bandits he'd started tracking the day before.

About lunchtime, he was riding along on his horse, Champion, bending low to see the footprints the bandits had left, which milled around in a confusing manner just here, when four bandits ambushed him, swinging down from the trees on ropes, shrieking and screaming like demons. Champion had reared in surprise. Johan had been concentrating on his tracking and had not been holding on tight, and was dumped unceremoniously in the dust, to his annoyance, while Champion galloped off. With him went all Johan's gear: blanket, cooking pot, food, coat, cloak, spare clothes and most particularly the saber strapped to the saddle.

The bandits pranced around Johan shouting and laughing, and one of them dragged him to his feet. The leader demanded, "Turn over all your money and anything else of value, and we may just let you live."

Johan didn't like the long, sharp, wicked looking knives they carried, still there was nothing to do but tell the truth. "What little money I had—and it was just a few copper coins—is on my horse."

Koparr, a ruddy fellow, asked, "What, the horse that just run off?"

"I'm afraid so." Johan nodded.

"You sure you don't have any money," asked Lauss, a surly man, poking him in the belt with his knife.

"No, it was all in my saddle bags. Here," he held up his arms, "search me."

The fourth man, Brill, patted him down, "Nothin', Borgman. Don't know why he even bothers to have pockets if he don't keep anything in 'em."

"Well, how we gonna rob him if he don't have any money," whined Koparr.

"I'll start by taking his boots—they're a lot better looking than mine," said Lauss, poking Johan again with his knife, and looking at his boots with the silver tassel in front.

Johan sat down on the ground with a sigh, and began to pull the boots off. "I'm afraid they're pretty well worn out, and not worth stealing." One heel proved to be held on by only a single nail. The heel swung down, then, while Johan watched, it fell off. The bandits watched as the heel hit the ground. "I planned to have that fixed next time I was in town."

Lauss kicked at the boot, and grumpily announced, "He's right, they are too worn out to be any good."

"How about we take his gloves?" asked Koparr.

Johan held up his right hand: you could see the tip of his thumb and three fingers through the holes. "Sorry, gentlemen, but they aren't worth stealing, either, I'm afraid."

"Well, if he doesn't have anything to steal, we'll at least get some fun out of him," said Borgman. "Brill, climb up and get your rope, and we'll tie him up." Brill grumbled at being chosen, but climbed up the tree to get his rope, curious as to what Borgman had in mind. They cut off a piece to bind Johan's hands together, then tied the rest around his ankles. They threw the rope over a tree branch, then Lauss, Koparr, and Brill all pulled on the rope while Borgman shouted encouragement, and Johan rose into the air, hanging upside down, until his head was four feet above the ground. They tied the rope off, then began twisting him around and swinging him back and forth. This led to much laughter for the bandits, though none for Johan. One of them noticed the hole in the stocking where his heel stuck out, and this was also good for laughs.

Finally, Borgman at least, grew tired of the game, and said, "You know, he said he had money on his horse. Let's see if we can find the horse."

"What about him," asked Brill.

"Just leave him there," replied Borgman as he marched off in the direction Champion had taken. The other three followed, Lauss pausing to give Johan a final swing back and forth before he left.

So, there Johan hung all afternoon. Mercifully, it didn't rain, so at least he was warm and dry. The wind didn't pick up, so he eventually stopped swinging back and forth. However, he couldn't get down.

With nothing else to do, he tried to work his hands free, then tried to get his feet free, but all to no avail. He considered swinging back and forth, hoping that might somehow help, but didn't see how it would. He knew he could whistle and Champion would come, but the horse wasn't trained to do anything immediately useful, like gnaw through ropes, or untie knots. Finally, he started talking to himself.

"OK, I've got to think up a way to get down from here." Nothing came to mind, despite the verbalization.

"Maybe I could do a sort of sit up, until I could grab the rope." Three tries yielded a variety of contortions, but he wasn't quite able to get up straight, and with his wrists tied, he couldn't grab the rope. Besides, it started him swinging again.

"I am so lucky I didn't eat lunch, because I wouldn't have kept it down. Of course, that does mean I'm really hungry now."

"Who are you talking to?"

Johan twisted and jerked around to see who had said that.

"Oh, great! I've been hanging upside down for way too long! I'm hungry and the blood has rushed to my head and I'm hallucinating about talking snowmen."

"Hey! I'm not a snowman!"

"Well, I'm relieved to hear that."

"I'm a snowwoman."

"Somehow that makes it less of a relief."

"So why are you hanging upside down if it makes all your blood rush to your head and you hal-lu-cin-ate?"

"I was captured by bandits who hung me upside down because I didn't have anything worth stealing."

"They weren't very nice bandits."

He stared at her a moment. "Umm, no, they weren't." He paused, he had an idea. Maybe the snowwoman was a hallucination, but if she wasn't, perhaps she could help him escape! "I don't suppose you could untie the knot on that tree over there, could you?" He bounced and jerked around so he could point at the tree.

She bounced over and pointed at the rope. "This knot?" Johan nodded. She grabbed the loose end and pulled. It didn't move, so she braced her feet against the tree trunk and tugged even harder. She stretched her back and gave the rope a good hard pull, and the knot suddenly came undone. She crashed to the ground and bounced back up again. With the rope untied and no snowwoman as a counter weight, Johan crashed to the ground, too, raising a cloud of dust.

Johan put his bound hands to his head and moaned. "Ooooohhhh!"

The snowwoman bounced over to see how he was. "How about I untie your hands? Or did you want to keep them tied together."

Johan looked at her a moment, uncertain whether or not she was joking, and decided to assume she was serious. "I would be very grateful if you'd untie my hands."

She set to work, but her stick fingers weren't the most agile, so it took a while before she got the first part of the rope loose. She tried to bend his left hand to pull the loop around it, but it didn't want to bend. Finally, though, the rope came loose, Johan pulled his hands apart, and he was free. He quickly untied his feet, then stood up.

Johan wasn't sure just how one should behave after being rescued by a snowwoman, so he took the formal approach: he stood up and bowed, though he nearly fell over because his feet were still numb from the rope and lack of blood. "My dear snowwoman, thank you very much for freeing me. Is there anything I can do to return the favor?'

He had thought this a mere formality when he said it, but the snowwoman immediately started to sniff, and her eyes began to run, though he was uncertain whether she was crying or melting. "Well yes, you see, I'm lost, and I want to get home to my mother."

He looked at her, squared his shoulders, and sighed. This wasn't exactly what he'd intended, but he had made the offer and would stand by it. "Where is your mother?'

"Well, she left me in a little clearing beside a stream that ran off a cliff, and went down to a town called Arendelle and didn't come back."

Arendelle was out of his way, quite a ways to the west and south. Still, he'd made a promise. Johan sat down, pulled on one boot, used a rock to pound the heel of the other back into place, pulled it on, then he whistled as loudly as he could. After a few minutes, he could see Champion winding his way through the woods, the horse having circled around to avoid the bandits. Johan leaned against the horse and fished about in the saddle bags for his compass. He opened the compass, looked at it, looked around at the surrounding mountains and forests, and said, "Alright, Arendelle is that way. Shall we start?"

Elsa Holds Court

At Mr. Bjornson's suggestion, two Fridays of each month, the Queen held public court in the afternoon, and the people of Arendelle were invited to bring their problems before her. This gave the people a chance to see Queen Elsa performing royal duties and not using her magic, which still made some people feel uncomfortable. It helped to build a bond between the queen and her subjects, and helped her to keep in touch with their problems. In a few cases, she would pass judgment immediately, in others, she would determine if a case should be brought before a regular court or her council, in still other cases, she would promise to look into the matter.

While the open court sessions had been Mr. Bjornson's idea, the Queen had insisted that Princess Anna stand beside her from the beginning. Sometimes, when a case was presented, Elsa would turn and whisper something to Anna, who would whisper back. Elsa would pause for a moment's thought, then nod, and announce her decision. It was several months before Mr. Bjornson, who always stood nearby at the foot of the dais, realized that the Queen had almost always made up her mind before turning to Anna. He wondered about the situation, until one day, he realized that the leader of the loyal opposition, who had always dismissed Anna as "that flighty girl," was now calling her "an intelligent and enthusiastic princess," and he realized Elsa was arranging for Anna to be respected, in case she ever became queen.

What Mr. Bjornson didn't realize, Anna was only dimly aware of, and even the queen had not fully thought through, was that Anna was also there to help Elsa keep her emotions and her magic under control. Elsa was always a bit nervous about the court sessions. She knew that some of the cases would engage her enough that she might want to do something dramatic to somebody who richly deserved it, and sometimes she would have to exercise considerable self-restraint to keep from doing so. Just because she had never used her powers on one of the people coming before her for justice didn't mean she would never do so, at least in her estimation. She couldn't be certain her powers would always be under control, and she knew she would be heartbroken if she ever harmed anyone. So far, though, nobody had ever been carried out, embedded in a block of ice.

Today, they had decided to make some changes in the court procedures. Normally, the queen sat on her throne, and Princess Anna, her heir, stood to her right, beside the throne and a pace back, while Mr. Bjornson stood at the foot of the dais, announcing the litigants from little pieces of paper brought to him by a herald. Today, Ice Master Kristoff had been asked to stand on the other side of the queen. He was to look stern, watch the proceedings, and respond to any questions the queen might ask him. The idea was to show parliament that he could make a valuable contribution to governing the nation.

At first, things were routine, a goat had strayed from its pasture and eaten apples off a neighbor's tree, two cousins quarreled about who owned a woodlot, which could supply only one of them with enough firewood for the winter. Out of the corner of her eye, Elsa saw Kristoff stifle a yawn.

These were followed by Mr. Bjornson's surprised announcement that, "Princess Alexandra of the Southern Isles wishes to petition Her Majesty in the matter of the new tariff on chocolate imported into Arendelle from the Southern Isles."

Elsa sat up stiffly on her throne. Anna took a step forward, and Kristoff moved to the side and forward to be in a better position to protect the Queen and Anna. Even Mr. Bjornson moved to be better positioned to intervene if Princess Alexandra threatened the Queen.

Alexandra did not attack. She was an older woman, older than Elsa and Anna together, and a bit stout. Instead, she walked almost to the front of the dais and curtsied. "Your majesty." She looked towards Anna, "Your royal highness." She turned towards Kristoff, "My, uh, Lord Ice Master." She seemed less certain of this form of address.

Elsa nodded, "Welcome, Princess Alexandra." She was polite, but wary.

"Your majesty, amongst the various duties I perform in my country, I am patron of the Chocolatiers Guild of the Southern Isles." Elsa nodded politely; she could see where this was going. "This is largely a ceremonial position involving a significant amount of chocolate tasting." Elsa smiled at that. Anna looked down at her sister, wondering if Arendelle had a chocolatiers guild, and if it, too, needed a royal patron. She made a mental note to talk with Elsa about this later. "However, they are concerned about the tariff Arendelle recently levied on imported chocolates, and asked that I visit you and see if perhaps the chocolatiers of the Southern Isles could be exempted from this tariff, or at least have the tariff reduced so it does not fall so heavily on the chocolates we produce. The thing is, your majesty," (and here she slid forward until her toes touched the edge of the dais, and she leaned towards Elsa) "we are very concerned that this tariff will cut into our business, causing financial hardship to the small businessmen who produce our renowned chocolates and to their families."

Elsa glanced toward Mr. Bjornson, who raised his eyebrows, meaning this needed to go before the council. "Princess Alexandra, we will discuss your issue in council Monday, and may even ask you to address the council, unless you need to return home before then. I see two immediate concerns: first, the object of the tariff is to encourage the production of Arendelle chocolate, a matter not only of national concern and pride, but of personal concern to both my sister and me." She smiled, and looked up at Anna. "Second, any waiver or decrease would almost certainly be contingent on a reciprocal waiver or decrease of the significantly higher tariff the Southern Isles long ago levied on the importation of chocolate and other confections from Arendelle. " Mr. Bjornson smiled at the response of his star pupil; judging from the look on Princess Alexandra's face, she hadn't expected the queen to realize the Southern Isles had such a tariff.

The Queen had announced her decision and the discussion was clearly over, Mr. Bjornson began the traditional closing line, "The Queen has rendered merciful . . ."

However, Alexandra had something to add. "Your majesty, as a gift, I have here for you a box of chocolates from some of our finest confectioners." She held out an ornate, largish box, removed the lid, and stepped on to the dais to offer some to the queen.

Kristoff stepped forward hastily, concerned that Princess Alexandra was getting close enough to attack the queen. "Of course," said Alexandra smoothly, "part of your job must be to taste such gifts and make sure the queen isn't poisoned. Here, do take one." She offered the box to Kristoff, but first took one chocolate for herself, which she popped into her mouth as a gesture of good faith. Kristoff looked at the queen quickly, and she nodded. He selected a chocolate with pale green decorations, cautiously took a small bite, then finished it off.

Elsa reached out, took his hand and squeezed it. "It tastes fine, your majesty. Actually really good!" Elsa smiled at him. Alexandra smiled, too, and offered the box to Queen Elsa, who took a piece, then to Princess Anna, who had been concerned that she might be left out. Alexandra closed the box and handed it to Kristoff, then backed off the dais.

"Good day, your majesty, your royal highness, my lord Ice Master." Anna thought she caught an odd look in Alexandra's eyes, but didn't know what to make of it. She also felt a cold breeze.

"Good day, Princess Alexandra. Thank you very much for the chocolates." Elsa smiled.

Mr. Bjornson intoned the ritual closing line, "The Queen has rendered merciful justice."

To which the audience responded, "The Queen has rendered merciful justice."

Nieves

Johan was guiding the snow lady towards Arendelle, just as he'd promised. It was taking time, because he was not riding, but walking slowly to match her pace. Also, she was frequently distracted, stopping to watch ravens, woodpeckers, squirrels, butterflies, or woolly caterpillars, examining the way a tree had grown, or smelling wildflowers. He was beginning to realize the trip would take a day and a half more than it would have if he'd been travelling alone.

The snow lady was beginning to grow on him, though, with her never-ending cheeriness and curiosity. As they walked along, and she chattered, he was trying to think back years and remember something he had heard long before. Finally, at one point when she was distracted, watching a vole scamper across the trail and down into its burrow, it came to him: "Nieves!"

Surprised, she turned, looked around, and looked at him. "Do you often say that?"

He explained, "When I was in the army during the wars, we campaigned in the far south, where it is much warmer than it is here. It almost never snows, so they think of snow as rare and beautiful. Sometimes they name their girl-children after the snow: Nieves."

"Nieves," she seemed to think about the name, rolling it around in her head.

"I like it, certainly better than Aunt Anna's suggestions. I like being rare and beautiful."

"So, would you like me to call you Nieves?"

"Yes, please," she said decisively.

Kidnapped

Dinner that night was a cheerful affair. Anna was bouncing back to her usual sunshiny self, Kristoff had convinced himself that Parliament would eventually give them their consent to marry, and Elsa had accepted that the negative vote on the marriage had not crushed her sister and was not necessarily a permanent setback. Anna brought up the issue of becoming patron of Arendelle's candy makers; Elsa smiled and agreed to look into it. By the time they'd eaten and chatted for an hour or so, they were all in a better, happier, more hopeful mood. Anna and Kristoff left Elsa's chambers together: Kristoff would walk Anna to her rooms, then he would go to the stables to visit Sven and share a carrot.

Anna had been in her apartment a few minutes, when somebody knocked on her door. She bounced over, thinking it was probably Kristoff, in need of an extra goodnight kiss. Anna opened the door, and there was, "Princess Alexandra! Umm, how are you?"

Alexandra barged in. She was shorter than Anna but much heavier and over twenty years older. "I could see this afternoon that you were the family chocolate aficionado. I am so sorry I didn't bring extra boxes to the court session. Since I'm staying in town, I thought I really must pop over and leave a box of chocolates just for you. When I explained my mission at the gate, the guards kindly let me in. Here, do try one—these aren't the same as the box I gave your sister. Of course, what I gave her is what our chocolatiers claim is the best, you know, and they certainly had fancy decorations, and are definitely challenging to make, but this mix has some of my personal favorites." Anna reached into the box. "Oh, yes, you'll find the filling of that one is excellent—chocolate raspberry. Do have another!"

"I should find Kristoff and offer him one or two."

"Oh, no, don't worry about that: you can give him one in the morning." Anna was out the door and down the stairs, though. Halfway down, she paused to hold the stair rail, with a funny look on her face, then pressed on. In the courtyard, Anna stumbled. Alexandra, who was following her closely, said, "Maybe you should sit down in my carriage."

"Yes, good idea. Sit down a moment. Just a little bit dizzy." Alexandra helped her up, and Anna lay down on one seat, and promptly fell asleep.

"Let's go," Alexandra called to the driver, who set the horses to a brisk walk.

Kristoff had been leaving the stables when he saw Anna come out of the castle and stagger into the carriage. He ran to the carriage, jumped on the step, looked inside, and asked in a frightened voice, "Anna, are you OK?"

His attention on Anna, he hadn't seen Alexandra grab a small wooden belaying pin. She hit him on the head, he let go, fell, and hit the cobblestones of the courtyard hard, so hard he was unconscious.

It was ten minutes later before Kristoff came to and managed to make his way back in to the castle, where people treated his cuts and bruises. What he wanted, though, was a horse and some soldiers to go after Alexandra and rescue Anna. He was trying to beat off the helpful servants, when Queen Elsa arrived.

"Please be still, Kristoff, so they can bandage your wounds." Then to one of the servants, "Please ask Princess Anna to come down."

"That's what I've been trying to tell people: Anna's been kidnapped by that Princess Alexandra!" He shoved the servants back and stood up, then almost immediately dropped to his knees. "Whoa!"

Elsa could see he was injured. "Kristoff," she said in her sternest voice, "let them help you to a bed. I'll take care of Anna, I promise."

While they helped Kristoff into the castle and put him in a bed, and somebody ran to fetch a doctor, Elsa sent a troop of horsemen after the carriage, hoping they didn't have too much of a head start. She sent a messenger to ask Mr. Bjornson to come in to help. Then she went up to her apartment to try to think of some way to use her magic to retrieve her sister.

By the time Mr. Bjornson arrived, a messenger had also come from the troop of horsemen: the carriage had been abandoned outside town and, as best they could tell in the dark, Alexandra, with Anna and a few helpers, had ridden off on horses. This was not good: horses could take to the mountain trails, while the carriage would have had to stay on the main roads.

The two of them discussed the situation and visited Kristoff, but couldn't think of anything else to do. Mr. Bjornson left, promising to be back early, suggesting they could do more once it was light and they had more information. Elsa went to bed, but slept little.

The next morning was worse. Mr. Bjornson walked through the gates, the horsemen sent in pursuit the previous night clattering in right behind him. They had pushed hard, trying to catch the kidnappers, and had been ambushed in the dark. Elsa rushed down to the courtyard, but there was little she could do for the wounded men or horses. She and Mr. Bjornson saw to the men, arranging for doctors from the town to help with the wounded, getting the injured men into hospital beds and the horses into stables and treated by the palace veterinarian. Then, Mr. Bjornson went in search of Elsa, who had disappeared.

Not finding her in the study or the obvious castle rooms, he climbed up to her apartments, and knocked. After a wait, he was about turn away, when she said, "Come in."

She had been crying, and had tried to clean up and look regal. She took a deep breath, "I thought sending people to prison was my least favorite part of being queen, but seeing the men I'd sent out come back, wounded and bleeding . . ."

"Trying to catch the kidnappers was the right thing to do, your majesty."

"I should have thrown that Princess Alexandra in prison the moment she appeared at the court!" She started pacing.

"You had no reason to. She had done nothing."

She stopped pacing, took a deep breath, and tried to be brisk and businesslike. "Do you have any ideas what we could do about Princess Anna's kidnapping?"

"Pick up the trail where the men were ambushed and continue to follow them. They seem to be headed up into the mountains, not to a port where they could get a ship to the Southern Isles."

"More men could be injured, or even killed."

"That is true, but it is unavoidable."

"It would be my responsibility. I don't think Anna would want it to happen, either."

Bjornson looked thoroughly unconvinced.

"Mr. Bjornson, you know I respect your opinion, but this time, let's wait a bit. Maybe Anna will escape. Maybe we'll get a ransom demand. Maybe something else unexpected will happen."

He still looked dubious.

"Look, Mr. Bjornson, I was up most of the night, I'm tired, and I'd like to go lie down for a bit. Just promise me that you won't send any more of our people out after them without my approval."

He was silent for a moment, then replied sympathetically, "Very well, your majesty."

Bjornson bowed, turned and left. Both he and the queen were thinking hard about the next steps they would take.

The Pursuer Becomes the Pursued

An hour later, Elsa crept down the back stairs, wearing a drab colored dress, her pale hair neatly tucked into a cap, trying to avoid prying eyes. She crossed the courtyard to the stables, found and saddled her horse, Snowball, and rode out after her sister. She had left a note behind for Mr. Bjornson—she couldn't bring herself to just run off again—explaining where she was going, and why, and asking him to be the regent in her absence. She mentioned her promise to Kristoff. She also pointed out that Anna had risked her life to go after Elsa a year ago; Elsa felt she could do no less for Anna now.

It was almost noon when Elsa reached the ambush site. The soldiers had brought back their wounded, but various bits of equipment lay on the ground: a sword here, shako, saddlebags, and what not. She looked around to see what she could learn, considered taking the sword in case she needed it, and decided she didn't know how to use a sword well enough to be a danger to anyone but herself. Besides, she had her magic. It was easy to see which way the kidnappers had gone after the fight, and she soon took up their trail.

By late afternoon, she felt that she was gaining on the kidnappers. Their trail had been easy to follow, she had pushed hard, sometimes walking, sometimes trotting. Snowball was not happy, turning around to give her dirty looks when they began their trotting sessions.

The trail came out of the woods into a long, grassy mountain valley with a stream winding through the middle. Halfway up the slopes on either side, the woods started again, and farther up the valley, the woods came down to the stream and the trail disappeared into the trees. Near the edge of the woods were five horsemen.

The riders saw Elsa and turned towards her. Once they were certain she was alone, they quickened their pace. Clearly the kidnappers had left a few men behind to make sure they weren't followed. They whooped with delight as they bore down on their solitary pursuer.

Elsa took a deep breath, and sent her ice towards the riders. Only nothing happened. She tried a second time: her fingers felt cold and her fingernails turned blue, but no icy wall blocked the way. A third time, and her fingernails were bluer still, but no ice appeared, and the riders were very close. Elsa turned her horse to flee.

The kidnappers were galloping now and gaining on her. She had thought to bring a small pouch of silver coins; she reached in, pulled out a handful and tossed them into the air. She glanced back a moment later to see four of the riders reining in their horses and leaping to the ground to pick up the coins. One rider was still following her, though.

Ahead, her trail met another trail, and Elsa urged Snowball on. Then she saw the brown horse and two people walking beside it. She was almost on top of them when she reined in her horse, trying to turn to keep away from them, assuming they were in league with the bandit pursuing her. She turned to cut in front of them and continue on down the trail, then one of the two called out, "Mom!"

Elsa reined in Snowball and stared at the small figure: she had found the snowwoman.

Sword fight

Elsa paused in a moment of indecision. Should she continue to flee? Should she try to get the snowwoman up on the horse with her?

The rider came clattering up, grabbed at her, she ducked and he came away with her cap, while her hair tumbled down. He swept past her, turned his horse and walked it back toward her. "Well, well, well! This is quite a triumph: kidnapping little sister last night, then capturing big sister today when she comes to the rescue! We thought Anna might be our key to power, but now, do you know what? I'm thinking we can use you, instead! Yes, indeed, just a few miles over that ridge over there," he waved, "is our castle, so come along with me now!" Prince Hans smiled his evil smile and grabbed at Snowball's reins.

Johan had been taking all this in, trying to determine what was going on. "Excuse me," he said. "I'm escorting this young lady," he gestured towards Nieves, "to meet her mother in Arendelle. Though it seems a bit odd, she tells me this lady is her mother. I don't think it would be appropriate to separate them. Nor do I think it is appropriate for you to take the lady off against her will."

His attention on Elsa, Hans hadn't noticed the two of them standing to the side. "Well, I don't want to be bothered by something like that," he said, in an insulting tone of voice.

"Hey!" Nieves said.

"As for this one," he said jerking his head towards Elsa and grabbing her arm, "she's my prisoner and I'll take her where I want."

"There's no reason for you to insult my friend, Nieves, nor for you to bully her mother."

Hans looked Johan up and down, was unimpressed by his scruffy outfit, and asked, "Who are you?'

"Johan Fishar, formerly a captain in the Royal Leonskoping Hussars."

"Well, I am Prince Hans of the Southern Isles. Now, I suggest you get out of my way." Johan didn't move. "Fine, have it your way." He dismounted and drew his sword, swishing a figure eight in the air. Johan fell back beside Champion, and drew his saber. Nieves sidled over against Snowball, nervously.

Elsa was surprised by this turn of events. She remained on her horse, trying to decide what to do: she certainly didn't want to go with Prince Hans, on the other hand, she didn't want this Captain Fishar to be hurt or killed on her account, and she knew Prince Hans was a good fencer. She dismounted, whispered to Nieves, "I can't let him do this," took two deep breaths and stepped forward to tell the two men she would go with Prince Hans. "I. . ."

Before she could continue, there was a clash of steel against steel. Hans thrust with his sword, aiming for Johan's heart. Johan parried, and the sword point passed to his left. Hans tried again, aiming for Johan's stomach. Again he parried and dodged and Hans' sword went off to Johan's left. Then, Hans aimed for Johan's right shoulder, and Johan parried once more.

Before Hans could attack again, Johan swung at his shoulder, and Hans quickly deflected the blow upwards, though it came uncomfortably close. Hans looked surprised. Johan swung again, aiming for Hans' neck. Hans parried, deflecting the saber down. He looked worried: he had barely blocked the blow. Johan brought his saber up, much faster than Hans had expected. There was a metallic clash, Hans stepped back, and gaped as his sword flew up into the air, the sun reflecting off the polished steel of its blade. The sword crashed back to the ground. Johan leapt forward, threatening Hans, his foot on the sword blade, so Hans couldn't retrieve it. Hans looked at him, turned and ran towards his horse. The horse began trotting away, with Hans in pursuit. The last they saw of him, he was calling out, "Get back here, you stupid horse!"

On the Road to Arendelle

Johan paused for a moment, watching him go, and catching his breath, then he turned to Champion and sheathed his saber. He picked up Hans' sword and wrapped it in his blanket.

Elsa realized she had been holding her breath and let it out in relief. She walked toward Johan, both her hands out to take both his hands. This was a common enough gesture for greetings and for rendering thanks in Arendelle. Johan held his right hand out to her, but his left hand remained at his side. Elsa was surprised, but her father had taught her that customs differed from one land to the next. So, she took his hand with both of hers, and said, "Thank you very much, Captain Fishar, for saving me from 'that person.' Also, thank you very much for returning my daughter to me."

Johan bowed, and replied "You are quite welcome, my lady." He straightened up and they looked each other in the eyes. They stood there a moment, just looking into each other's eyes.

They were shoved apart by a small figure. "Whoa, mom! Find your own man! This one's mine!"

Elsa and Johan both took a step back. They both looked surprised, and simultaneously both said, "What?"

Caught totally by surprise by Nieves' expression of her feelings, Johan didn't know quite what to say. Elsa recovered a little more quickly, displaying more maternal feelings than she knew she had. "Excuse me, Captain Fishar, but would you kindly explain exactly what your relationship with my daughter might be?"

"Umm, my relationship? Well, let's see. I was captured by bandits, tied up, and hung from a tree limb. She untied me, and in return, I was guiding her back to Arendelle to find her mother."

Elsa looked at him. It seemed reasonable, and he definitely seemed to be to be telling the truth. She turned to the snowwoman. "Well, I almost didn't let him down, he looked so funny hanging there."

"And that's all there is to say about it?" Elsa asked sternly.

The snowwoman nodded, looking a bit subdued.

Elsa turned back to Johan. "So what had you planned to do once you got to Arendelle and reunited us?"

"I'd been asked to find the bandit's lair and report back to Leonskoping, so they can attack it. This lot has been waylaying travelers in Leonskoping and fleeing over the border to Arendelle before we could catch them. I suppose they've also been attacking people in Arendelle and running away to Leonskoping before the Queen's soldiers can catch them."

Elsa had discussed these bandits several times with Mr. Bjornson, and was familiar with their depredations in Arendelle; she hadn't realized they were also raiding into Leonskoping. "Yes, I've heard of them." She looked back up the trail where Hans had disappeared. "Prince Hans had several followers. I distracted them by tossing a handful of coins onto the ground. I suppose he'll get them and come after us again, so we'd best leave."

Johan's expression changed, very much in the here and now, dealing with an immediate problem. "Yes, most definitely, Madame. Does your daughter ride? If so, I'll put her on Champion, you can ride your horse, and we'll do our best to put as much distance between them and us as we can, and get you home to your husband."

"Oh, my mom isn't married," put in Nieves.

Johan looked at Elsa for confirmation.

Elsa opened her mouth to explain that she was neither Miss nor Mrs., but Queen, then paused. For her whole life, she had been Princess Elsa and then Queen Elsa. Maybe it would be nice to have one person who thought of her as just a regular person. "No, I'm not married-it's a long story. Just call me Elsa or Miss Elsa, Captain Fishar."

"Please, just Johan."

"Very well, Johan, then. Could I help you get the snowwoman up on your horse, so we can get away from here?"

The snowwoman tugged at her skirt. "Mom! Please, Captain Fishar found a name for me. It's Nieves." She glanced at Johan, as if she didn't want to be embarrassed in front of him.

Elsa looked at Johan in surprise. "It's a name from the far south. Snow there is rare, and considered beautiful. Their word for snow, nieves, is sometimes a girls' name."

"See, Mom, isn't that great? I'm rare and beautiful, like snow in the south!"

Elsa looked at her and smiled. "You certainly are rare and beautiful! So you're happy with this name, unlike the names your Aunt Anna came up with?"

She looked at Elsa in exaggerated disbelief. "C'mon Mom, who really wants to be called Swanhild?"

"Well, OK, Nieves it is."

"Come on, Nieves, let's get you up on Champion," Johan said. With Elsa's help he got the short-legged snowwoman up on the big bay, then he held Snowball while Elsa mounted, and they set off.

On the Road

They made good time, with Nieves riding, not walking along on her short legs or wandering off to investigate something. Leading Champion, Johan had to walk briskly to keep up with the two horses, and had little breath for conversation. After a bit, Elsa's thoughts turned to the near disaster in the meadow. Why hadn't her magic worked? For all those years alone in her room, she had wished that she could be normal, with no dangerous magic. It had never happened, though, not even for a few hours. Now the magic was gone, she had no idea why, and she was feeling devastated, empty inside.

Beyond that, she hardly dared think about an even worse problem: she had failed to rescue Anna. It would have been easy using her magic, but she had no more magic. She was just a woman, with a horse, and now a snow daughter. How could they rescue Anna? As for Johan, he seemed nice enough, and was certainly good with his saber, but he had his own life and no reason to help her. She felt tears begin to run down her cheeks.

"Is something wrong, Miss Elsa?"

Drat! Elsa had hoped he wouldn't notice her tears. She wiped them away. "I was up here in the mountains because my sister Anna has been kidnapped. I came to rescue her."

Johan looked at her in surprise. "There are quite a few bandits, if they're the same ones I've been following. I thought it would take a troop of cavalry at least, to clean them out. You couldn't have hoped to deal with them by yourself." He looked at her curiously.

"Captain Fishar, we aren't taking the direct route back to Arendelle."

He looked puzzled by her change of topic, then shrugged his shoulders, and went along with it. "No, we're north of the straightest route there. When you told me Prince Hans and his men might follow us, I changed our route to come to Arendelle from the north, rather than the northeast, getting us off the trail they'd expect to find us on."

Elsa nodded. "An excellent idea, captain."

Imprisoned

Anna woke up slowly, feeling groggy. When her vision cleared, she sat up and looked around. She seemed to be in a cell in the basement of a stone tower. The cell was cold, so she wrapped the blanket from the cot around her, then explored. Light filtered in through a barred window above her head. She reached up and yanked and twisted at the bars, but they were solidly in place. She examined the door. It, too, had a barred window, and through it she could see a guard in a chair, leaning back against the wall and dozing. The door was four inches thick: far too thick for her to break through. Quietly, she pulled on the ring, but the door was firmly locked. She started to kick it, realized she had only light shoes on and would just hurt her toes, and went back to the cot to sit and think.

An hour later, she still hadn't had a brilliant idea as to how to escape from the cell. She was deep in thought when there was a loud crash in the room outside, and she heard Alexandra say, "Wake up, you oaf! Now, take your key and unlock the door!" Anna heard the guard shuffle over to the door and insert the key. She braced herself: maybe she could shove Alexandra aside and escape.

The door opened and Alexandra blocked the doorway as she entered. Anna charged; hit Alexandra in the stomach, knocking her over, and headed for the door. Before she could get more than a few feet, the guard grabbed her by her right arm and Prince Hans grabbed her by the left arm, and they dragged her back into the cell, tossing her on the cot. Anna glared up at the three of them.

"I told you she was dangerous," Hans said to Alexandra, with a shrug.

"Yeah! And I'm nowhere near as dangerous as my sister. Wait until she comes: she'll freeze your noses to your toes, and you can sit there smelling your own stinky feet!"

"I think not," Alexandra replied, standing up and brushing her dress off. "Those chocolates I gave her contained a potion that will strip her of her magical powers for good. No, I don't think there will be any freezing going on. Here's what is going to happen, missy. You'll sit down and write to your sister demanding her abdication in favor of my little brother," Hans frowned, "in return for your freedom."

"Yeah!" Hans said.

"What if I don't?"

"For now, you'll stay in this cell. If you take too long, we'll just have to think of a way to encourage you." She tapped her fingers together, and looked like she was contemplating something particularly nasty.

"Yeah," Hans added.

Alexandra and the guard turned to leave, but Hans had one last thing to say.

"Thanks to you and your sister, my brothers exiled me to run our sheep farm on Shepsey, the most isolated of the Southern Isles. Eight months of trying to breed sheep with plaid wool, because my brother Jurgen, the family joker, thought it would be good for the Scottish trade. Well, now I'm free, and I aim to make myself king of Arendelle! I've got friends there, you know!" He sneered at her. In fact, he was so busy with his princely sneer that he didn't notice her winding up to punch him. He staggered out, his hands clutching his battered nose.

A Meeting on the Trail

The sun had set behind the peaks when they turned aside and found a small clearing to camp in. Johan made a fire, and then he and Elsa shared some of their food. Elsa was very quiet, thinking about her sister. They went to sleep early, but Johan woke once in the night to hear her weeping quietly. He wished he had a better plan than simply taking her back to Arendelle. He was, in fact, rather taken by the pretty blonde woman. He dozed off and in his dreams he escorted Elsa and Nieves home, returned to Leonskoping to lead soldiers to attack the bandits, then restored the missing sister to Elsa, thereby winning her good will. Then he woke, dispelling the dream: somebody like Miss Elsa undoubtedly had all manner of handsome, wealthy suitors. Still, bits of the dream lingered on the edges of his mind through the day.

Next morning, they pressed on, and since there had been no sign of pursuit, they walked more and rode less. Johan tried to cheer Elsa up, and Nieves did her best to help him. She remained very quiet, but she realized and appreciated what they were trying to do and tried to smile from time to time.

When they stopped to eat lunch, Nieves asked Johan about his army experiences. "Were you a general, with a white horse?"

Johan looked at her and smiled. "No, no, I was a captain of hussars—hussars have the prettiest uniforms, you know. I rode Champion here," he stroked the horse's neck, "who was much faster, stronger and more spirited than the general's horse. Also smarter, I'm afraid."

"Oooohhh," clearly, Nieves was impressed, despite the lack of a white horse.

Elsa was just a little bit jealous. She turned to Snowball, stroked her nose, "Don't listen to him, Snowball. White horses like you are just fine."

Johan reached over to pat Snowball. "She's beautiful." Elsa blushed; for just the tiniest moment, Johan had seemed to be looking at her over Snowball's nose, leaving her to wonder if the compliment was aimed at her or Snowball.

It was nearly sunset, when Elsa, who was walking in front, heard someone talking ahead of them. "Someone's coming," she whispered urgently. She led them off the trail, behind a clump of rocks.

They peeked over the top of the rocks, watching to see who was coming. Johan was surprised and Elsa relieved to see another walking snowman, talking to himself. She stood up, waved, and called to him, "Hello, Olaf!"

"Queen Elsa!" She saw Johan start in response out of the corner of her eye. This was a complication she hadn't thought about. Olaf bounced over and hugged her. Then, he noticed her companions. "Um, is this the other snowman you told me about?"

"Snowwoman," Nieves corrected him sharply.

"Yes, this is Nieves. And this is Captain Johan Fishar, who has been guiding her back to Arendelle. I ran into them while looking for Anna."

"And you would be . . ." Johan said.

"Oh, hi, I'm Olaf, and I like warm hugs!" He wasn't sure what to think about Nieves, so he slipped around her and hugged the surprised captain. Then, something clicked in his head, "Wait! Why were you looking for Anna? Is she lost?"

"No, I'm afraid not, Olaf. She was kidnapped by Princess Alexandra, Prince Hans' sister. I was trying to rescue her."

"Oh. So why didn't you just freeze this Princess Alexandra?" Johan wondered the same thing.

"I planned to. But my magic wouldn't work, and I ended up having to run away. That's when I ran into Nieves and Captain Fishar," she smiled at him, as sort of a payback for not having been wholly honest, "and the captain bested Hans in a duel."

"Wow!" Olaf looked up at Johan. "So now you're heading off to rescue Anna again, right?"

"No, Olaf," she sighed, "we're going back to Arendelle. I can't rescue Anna without my magic, which is gone."

"Your majesty," said Johan, who had been looking around, "this is as good a place to camp as any. Perhaps a warm meal and a good night's rest will help you think of something."

"Perhaps so, Captain Fishar." She didn't sound very hopeful. She also realized she had rather liked calling him Johan, and him calling her Elsa. "In any case, we might as well camp here."

Around the Campfire

Johan started a fire, found water for the two humans and the horses, and made a stew, while Elsa introduced the two snow people and tried to get them to talk to each other. This didn't go as well as she might have hoped, and she found herself wishing Anna were here to help. Olaf couldn't see why the queen needed another snow person and Nieves seemed to think him quite common and not nearly so dashing as the gallant Captain Fishar. Elsa also felt a bit conflicted by the project: certainly Anna had wanted a female for Olaf to love and she was carrying out that plan, but she also felt a little bit like she was trying to undermine a rival for Captain Fishar's affection. Frustrated by her failure to strike up a friendship between the snow people and not wanting to be left to her own unhappy thoughts, Elsa turned to Johan while they ate. "So, Captain Fishar, tell us about yourself. Why are you out here in the wilderness, instead of one of the more elegant postings for Leonskoping's cavalry? Are you married? Do you have children? What is your family like?"

Johan seemed surprised. "Where to start? Let's see, I was injured and crippled during the wars, enough so that they no longer wanted me leading a troop of horsemen, though I stayed on as forage officer. And I did lead my hussars in a couple charges anyway." He smiled like a little boy caught doing something he wasn't supposed to do. "When the wars ended, the regiments went into garrison or disbanded, they no longer needed full time forage officers, and I went on half-pay—they could call me back to active service, if they ever needed me, which is unlikely. I have a brother, Ragnar, and two sisters, Sigrun and Krimhild—Hildy, all older than me. Our parents were big on names from the old stories. Ragnar and Siggy did OK there, Hildy and me, well, we didn't come out so well."

"I don't remember a Johan in any of the old sagas I've read."

"Ah, yes, well . . ." he said, clearly caught out. "It's actually my middle name. It may be plain, but it's much better than my first name."

Elsa smiled a bit, amused by his admission. "Which is . . .?"

"Etzel." He sighed, though secretly happy to be distracting the queen and drawing her thoughts away from her own misfortunes. "My sisters called me Etzel the Pretzel when I was little." He shrugged.

"Do you see your family often?"

"Well, no, not anymore, now that we're all grown, though I am quite fond of them. Ragnar has been good about finding things for me to do outside the city and generally away from people. I visit him, his wife, Estel, and their four children several times a year. Estel will usually have a young lady or two to introduce me to, but so far, well, perhaps I'm just not the marrying sort." He smiled at that.

She paused. "I think your sister-in-law, Estel, is right: you should find a nice girl: you'd be a wonderful husband and father."

He shook his head, and looked a bit embarrassed.

She smiled and nodded, paused and looked at him sharply. "I saw you defeat Prince Hans in a sword fight, and Hans is a very good swordsman. You certainly didn't seem crippled then!"

His smile faded quickly. "Thank you, your majesty. I do try to cover it up: who wants to always hear people saying 'Here comes the crippled guy?' If you didn't notice, I must be doing a good job."

This was not the way Elsa had wanted the conversation to go: she had ever so clearly made Johan uncomfortable, which made her feel uncomfortable in turn.

"I must apologize for not telling you who I was when we met." The words, once started, spilled out. "It's just that when you're a princess or queen, people treat you special, and here was an opportunity to be just a regular person, at least as far as you were concerned. Then, too, you'd just dealt with Prince Hans who is only interested in me because I'm a queen. So, I didn't tell you I was queen."

"And I didn't tell you I was a prince."

She rolled her eyes. "There's no need to be sarcastic."

Johan shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, your majesty, if you're finished with dinner, I'll wash up. Nieves, perhaps you and Olaf could gather some wood for a fire in the morning."

"No," Elsa said quickly. "Trust me, that's one job that snow people have accidents with. I'll gather wood."

When she returned with an armload of wood, Elsa saw that Johan had spread out their blankets: his on the side of the log near the fire, and hers on the far side of the log. She looked at Johan curiously.

"I thought it might be an interesting experiment," he explained. "They say that the Queen of Arendelle can go out in a blizzard without a cloak, and not feel the cold. Try sleeping over there: if you get cold, you can always climb over the log and curl up near the fire. You can even borrow my brown coat. If you don't get cold, your magic isn't really gone, just hiding."

She perked up; here was something she could actually do about her missing magic. "Thank you, Johan, that's an excellent idea."

Nieves asked Olaf, "Why is your hair funny striped, and hanging way down in back?"

"It's not hair, it's my hat! See?" He lifted the cap. "The Queen gave it to me."

"I can see why Mom didn't want it!"

"Well, it's much nicer than that yellow and pink hat you're wearing."

"That isn't a hat, it's my hair! I'm a natural blonde." Nieves patted the yellow yarn into place and stomped around the log to Queen Elsa's side. "I think I'll sleep on this side of the log, too."

"Sheesh! Girls!"

Elsa shook her head and wondered why she'd let Anna convince her to make a second snowperson.

Breakfast in Camp

Johan awoke to the sound of Elsa humming and bustling about the camp. The fire had been built up and a kettle of water was boiling over it. It looked like she was making breakfast. He lay there, watching her move about for a minute or two. Then, she noticed he was awake. "Good morning! How are you this beautiful morning?" It was getting light, but the sun wasn't up yet. "Here, I'll have a cup of tea to warm you up in a minute or two!"

"You're not cold?"

"No, not at all! In fact, just before dawn, the loveliest chill breeze sprang up, sweeping down off the mountain tops!" Elsa sighed happily. Johan pulled his blanket over his head.

"You know what that means—my magic's not gone!"

Johan sat up, blanket wrapped around his head and shoulders. "So, how do we make it work again? Do you have a doctor who specializes in magic?"

Elsa looked up from brewing tea and paused. "I don't know. I don't know what to do to bring back my missing magic." This hit her hard: she had been so pleased her magic wasn't gone she hadn't thought about how to restart it.

"Do you know anyone else who can do magic?"

"Sure she does—Grand Pabbie!" Olaf pointed out.

Johan looked at them curiously. "He's the troll chieftain," Elsa explained. "He's my sister Anna's friend, and he raised Kristoff. But . . ."

"What?"

"I've always been frightened of him. When I was eight, I accidently struck Anna with my magic. My parents took us to him to save her. He explained to me that my magic could be terrible." She shivered at the memory, then paused and thought for a moment. "Still, maybe just this one time, since it would be to help Anna, he would help me with my magic problems."

Johan took the proffered tin cup of tea, sipped it and sighed as the warmth ran through him. "Thank you. Where does Grand Pabbie live?"

"Oh, oh, I know where he lives!" Olaf chimed in. "He lives in the Valley of Living Stone."

"I've never been there, but I know where that is in a general sort of way, on the border between Arendelle and Leonskoping, south and east of here. Can either of you guide us if I get you close?" he asked, looking at Elsa and Olaf.

"Maybe," replied Elsa.

"Sure!" said Olaf.

Hungry

There was no dinner for Anna that night. When morning came, there was no breakfast, either. Anna was very hungry when lunch time rolled around. She began to think starvation might be Hans' and Alexandra's way of forcing her to write to Elsa. A little after noon, one of the guards brought in a small bowl of stew and some bread. Another guard brought in paper, pen and ink. Both left and Anna attacked the stew. She bit into the bread, which was stale, but she swallowed it anyway. It felt strange in her stomach. She wondered why. Surely, they wouldn't try to poison her, would they? Then she started to wonder why Elsa hadn't rescued her yet. Was Alexandra telling the truth about Elsa losing her magic? She dunked a piece of bread in the stew, and ate while she wondered about this. Her stomach felt stranger, and her head felt dizzy. Maybe Elsa didn't want her around. Elsa hadn't made her patron of the chocolate makers. Elsa liked chocolate, too. That was it! Elsa didn't want to share any of her power; she didn't even want to let her sister have extra chocolate. How could she have failed to realize how selfish, self-centered and inconsiderate her sister really was, how little Elsa really cared for her? The more she thought about it the more certain she was that Elsa wanted to keep everything: power, chocolate for herself. Elsa had just been pretending to like her. She wouldn't put up with that! She'd show her sister! She pounded on the door, and yelled at the guard to bring Prince Hans.

In the Valley of Living Stone

It was late in the morning when they arrived at the entrance to the Valley of Living Stone. Elsa's memories from many years earlier, and a general familiarity with an old map in the castle library had helped, and so had Olaf's memory, though it was clear there was an element of trial and error in his navigation. Near the bottom of the valley, they paused, and tied the horses to a tree. Then Queen Elsa, Nieves, Olaf, and Johan walked forward to meet the trolls.

Elsa stopped just outside the area filled with round boulders. Olaf, Nieves, and Johan looked at her, and she took a deep breath, then said to herself, "Think about Anna. I have to rescue her, and this is the only way to do it." Slowly, one step at a time, she walked into the boulder strewn area.

As they walked forward, the trolls began to wake up, unrolling themselves and whispering as the four of them passed. Elsa could tell they had recognized her from their whispers. She noticed they seemed to recognize Johan, too, perhaps from all the time he had spent around the borderlands. Several of the troll children came up to Olaf, who would stop for a moment to play, realize the others were leaving him behind, and rush off to rejoin them.

Twice Elsa paused, not at all certain about dealing with the trolls. Both times, she thought of Anna, took a deep breath, and went on.

They had walked past the middle of the valley, when a particularly large and mossy rock rolled up and unfolded to become Pabbie. He bowed to Elsa, who curtsied back, then dropped to one knee putting her head more nearly on his level. Beside her, Johan returned Pabbie's bow and dropped to one knee.

"Welcome, your majesty."

"Thank you very much, Grand Pabbie."

He looked at her curiously, "What is wrong with your magic, your majesty?"

"Something's happened, and it doesn't work anymore. All I can do is turn my fingernails blue! The cold still doesn't bother me, though."

He thought about that while the other trolls looked on sympathetically. "Have you eaten anything out of the ordinary, perhaps something given you by an enemy?"

She thought a moment. "Well, maybe. Prince Hans' sister, Princess Alexandra of the Southern Isles gave me a box of chocolates, and I ate one of them, but only after Kristoff and Alexandra each ate a piece, and Anna ate a piece after me, so it should have been safe."

"Neither Kristoff nor Anna has magic like yours to lose. The chocolates may have had no effect on them. May I try something?"

Elsa nodded, and Pabbie made a strange gesture with his wand in front of her face. There was a popping sound, he jumped back, and his eyes opened wide. Then, he smiled, "While you can't use your powers just now, you still have them. You need to go back to Anna, hold her hand, and try your magic. After she helps you start your magic again once or twice, you should be back to your old self."

"Anna's been kidnapped. I was trying to rescue her, when I found my powers didn't work."

"So you would need to get to Anna, but you could only do that by freeing her or by joining her where ever she is being held prisoner."

Elsa nodded and made a face at the two possibilities.

"Do you know where she is being held?"

"At a castle, a few miles from where Prince Hans and his bandits attacked me. I don't really know where that is or how to get there, though."

"Do you know?" Pabbie eyed Johan curiously.

Johan did not look happy. "From what Prince Hans said, Princess Anna is being held at Illsku Castle."

Pabbie took a step back. "It has an evil reputation among my people. We do not go there."

"I've certainly never felt a need to go there, though I've seen it once from a distance."

"What is this Illsku place?" Elsa asked. "Why are you two so concerned? If that's where Anna is being held, that's where I must go."

"In Lejonskoping," explained Johan, "they say that it was built by a goblin king, or a wicked necromancer once lived there, or it's haunted by ghosts; some say all three."

"Illsku is dangerous, your majesty. Go there if you must, but be very careful of anyone you meet there, even your sister. Also be careful what you eat and drink," explained Pabbie.

She looked from one to another. "You two are making me very nervous."

The three of them were silent for a moment, then Elsa asked, "Pabbie, one other thing: when I met Princess Alexandra, cold seemed to flow from her. Later on, I noticed the same thing about Prince Hans. What would make a person do that? Or am I imagining things?"

Pabbie looked sad. "You have heard of the Goblin Mirror? It was shattered long ago, but sometimes a small piece will turn up and work itself inside someone, and cause them to do cruel and evil deeds. It sounds like those two have a bit of the mirror embedded in them, maybe several bits. What you must do when your powers come back is," and here, Pabbie took her hand to show her, "draw out the bits of mirror, then destroy them!"

Elsa and Johan jumped at the little explosion, and the nearby trolls blinked their eyes.

Elsa stood up, and curtsied, "Thank you very much for your help, Pabbie. I've been frightened of you ever since I met you when I was eight years old, but I think I was wrong; I think we should be friends."

"I'd like that, your majesty," Pabbie bowed, Elsa curtsied and turned back toward the horses.

Johan turned to leave, too, but Pabbie had something else to say. "Captain Fishar," he paused while Elsa continued to walk away, "you have not told the Queen who you are."

"There's no reason to."

"She's fond of you."

"And I'm fond of her, but she can do so much better for herself. To tell her more about me would not change things for her, I think."

"And what about your own heart?"

"Some things are not meant to be, however much we may wish for them." He shrugged his shoulders.

"This may not be one of those things."

Johan seemed to dismiss this idea, looked at Pabbie carefully for a long moment, then slowly nodded, "I will keep that in mind, though I do not think I could even hope for such a thing." He turned to walk away, then turned again, bowed, and said, "Thank you."

While they had been talking with Grand Pabbie, Olaf had wandered off to play with the trolls, who were happy to have company. After a bit, two of the troll girl children had led Nieves away. They showed her their troll dances, and she promptly joined in. In fact, she was doing so well, twirling and leaping, she began to attract attention, first from the other girl trolls, then from many of the boys, and even from some of the adults. Olaf's friends were distracted, and he came over to see what was going on. He watched Nieves for a bit, then began to try to match her steps. Before long, the two of them were dancing enthusiastically, surrounded by a circle of admiring trolls. Elsa and Johan stopped to watch.

The two snow people danced with each other, bouncing up and down in time to the clapping and foot stamping of the audience. Johan looked at Elsa, as if he might ask her to dance, then looked down at his hands, his face growing sad, and returned to watching Olaf and Nieves.

Elsa saw him move out of the corner of her eye, and turned to look at him. She sighed—this was one of those rare times when she wished she did know how to dance. Then she returned to watching Olaf and Nieves, too, clapping when several of the trolls decided to join them.

To Ilsku Castle

They led the horses down the hillside from the Valley of Living Stone, until they came to the entrance of the valley. Johan pointed to the northward fork, "That's the road that will lead us to Illsku Castle

"Us?"

"Well, yes. I am here to discover and scout out the bandits' lair. Once I confirm that they're there, I'll report back to the army and help them get together an expedition to get rid of the bandits. We can rescue your sister, Anna, at the same time."

Elsa looked at him carefully, thinking that might not be the only reason he was going there, but uncertain about whether or not she should ask.

Elsa looked at the other road, south and west to Arendelle, her safe and comfortable home. She took a deep breath, and turned to Olaf. "Olaf, I'd like you and Nieves to go to Arendelle and tell Mr. Bjornson where we are heading, and why. Could you do that for me?"

"Sure, Queen Elsa! Do you want me to start now?"

Johan heard her, drew Nieves aside, and explained to her, "Your mother is sending Olaf to Arendelle to tell them where we are. Could you go with him, and make sure he goes straight to Arendelle, and doesn't get distracted?"

"This would be important for mom, and for you?"

"Very important, Nieves."

"Well, I guess I can put up with him. OK, then, I'll do it! When do we start?"

Within minutes, the two snow people were headed towards Arendelle, Johan and Elsa waiting at the fork in the road, waving good-bye.

Then Johan led the way north, guiding them towards Illsku Castle. Elsa was glad to have him along. Driving the bandits Prince Hans and Princess Alexandra had allied themselves with out of the mountains was his original goal, yet he also seemed interested in helping her.

What little Grand Pabbie and Johan had told her about Illsku Castle worried her. She needed to get in to rescue Anna, but had no idea how to break in without her magic. "Captain Fishar, have you had any thoughts about how to get into Illsku Castle?"

"Well, we can't just ride up and ask for admission. I think it's best to look the castle over, keeping out of sight, and see if there is a way to slip in. I remember it being partially ruined."

She nodded. "Alright, we'll try that." What she did not tell him was that she was becoming increasingly unwilling to have him risk his life when she was the only one that needed to get in.

They came to Illsku castle late that afternoon. Elsa and Johan surveyed it, looking for a place to slip in. This required staying back, behind cover where they couldn't be seen, while walking around the castle. By the time they finished, the sun had set, and it was getting dark. The castle was on a small, rocky hill. Its gatehouse seemed fairly strong still; the circuit walls near the gatehouse also seemed to be in good enough shape, though several of the merlons had been broken off. Many of the buildings inside the walls were in ruin, but others still seemed to be useable. Towards the rear of the castle was a large tower, still in good shape, though the walls nearby were crumbled piles of stone. There, if anywhere, they might sneak in to rescue Anna.

Johan, more or less out of habit, had also counted the defenders. There were 14 bandits, including his acquaintances from the trail, Brill, Borgman, Lauss, and Koparr. They were able to spot Prince Hans and Princess Alexandra. Alexandra seemed to be living in one of the better buildings near the gatehouse. She had two guards in yellow coats, who had probably come with her from the Southern Isles as well as two white coated servants to carry her sedan chair, and a maid. They saw no sign of Anna.

That night, Elsa and Johan camped well away from the castle, so the light from their fire wouldn't be seen. They sat around the fire, and discussed their next steps.

"When I left Arendelle to rescue Anna, I thought I'd just use my magic to blast my way through any obstacles or opposition. Now I've got to go in there defenseless, and try to get Anna out. Pabbie thinks that Anna and I can—together—bring back my powers."

"My guess, your majesty, is that they would put her in the tower at the rear of the castle. I don't know whether they'd put her in a room on the bottom, below ground level, or up high, so she couldn't escape out a window."

"Our castle at Arendelle, has some old dungeon cells below ground level that have small, barred windows near the ceiling. If I can sneak up to the tower and call Anna to the window, I wouldn't even need to get inside the tower."

"I hope that was a slip of the tongue, and you meant 'we.'"

"Johan, this is dangerous! She's my sister. I have to go. Besides, if things go wrong, I'm valuable as a hostage, so they wouldn't hurt me. You, on the other hand. . . "

"Until you get your magic back, you need a friend to cover your back," he said firmly.

"You don't understand, Johan. I sent guards off in pursuit when Anna was kidnapped, and they were ambushed, and many of them injured. I just wanted to run away, and go live in my ice castle on North Mountain. If it hadn't been that I needed to rescue my sister, I might have. I can't have you risk your life."

"Your guards are soldiers, your majesty, as was I once. We don't particularly like to think about it, but wounds or death are an occupational hazard. Just for you, though, I promise, I'll do my best not to get myself killed or even wounded again." He smiled at her.

Elsa frowned at him for a moment. Then, rather than continue the argument, she changed the topic. "Do you think it would be better to approach from the right or left of the tower?"

"Left. The stones are lower, and there are bushes to provide cover between the forest and the castle."

"OK."

"One other thing, your majesty, I've thought about what Pabbie said about the castle and about our Lejonskoping stories: I don't understand it, but I believe the castle itself may be part of the threat. I think both of us should carry some of our food and water with us so we don't have to eat or drink anything from the castle. Also, take my coat—it will make it look like the cold bothers you now."

Elsa thought about this, then agreed. She watched Johan poke the fire with a stick, then came and sat down on the log beside him.

"Frightened?" he asked.

"Yes."

"That makes two of us." He reached over and squeezed her left hand with his right hand.

"We have some things going for us: They won't be expecting this. I've watched you the past three days: you're courageous, determined and intelligent. Besides, you can make your fingernails turn blue, and I don't know anyone else who can do that! Blue fingernails: that'll terrify them!" She gave him a weak little smile.

Johan lay awake for a while. Once he was certain Elsa was asleep on the far side of the fire, he got up and tied a bit of string to Snowball's saddle, and tied the other end to his wrist, just in case she had any plans of saddling her horse and sneaking off in the night to attempt to get into the castle on her own.

The sky was growing lighter in the east when Johan woke up. He could see the silhouette of the saddle and beyond it, he could pick out Snowball's outline. He lay still a moment, then realized he couldn't hear Elsa's breathing. He sat up and looked at her empty blanket on the other side of the fire. "Drat! I didn't think she'd just walk off!" He pulled on his boots and scrambled off to find her.

Prisoner of Hans and Alexandra

It was after midnight when Elsa woke up. She had carefully piled her things against the log, as far from Johan as possible, so as not to wake him when she crept out of their camp. She felt bad about leaving, but slipping off by herself again was the only way she could see to protect him.

She wound her way through the forest with difficulty in the dark, and eventually came out near the tower, as the eastern sky was growing light. She crept quietly across the open ground to the tumbled stones beside the tower, doing her best to keep to the shadows.

Once she reached the tower, she began to work her way around it, searching for a window. Elsa climbed up the ruined wall, then back down again, and found a window, a narrow slit with bars across it. She knelt down beside it and whispered, "Anna! Anna!" There was no answer, so she tossed a pebble in, but all she heard was the pebble hitting the stone floor. Still, Anna could be a sound sleeper, so she tried once more, louder, "Anna!" Still no response.

The light was much brighter now, and she was becoming nervous, worried that people might be up and about and she would be seen. Still, she crept on to the next window, and called inside, but there was no answer. Then, she crawled to the final window. She called down quietly, "Anna, are you there?"

"What have we got here?" asked Borgman.

Elsa spun around to see two bandits looking at her.

"I don't know, but I'll bet her nibs would pay us plenty for this one, "replied Brill. Each of them grabbed one of Elsa's arms and they began dragging her off to the great hall. She cooperated for a minute then twisted and tried to escape. She got away from Brill, but not Borgman, and soon each man had a firm grip on her shoulder, pushing her toward the great hall.

The double doors to the hall were opened and Borgman, Elsa, and Brill entered, side by side, the two men gripping her arms tightly. They shoved her across the room until they all stood in front of a table where Alexandra sat, eating breakfast. She looked up, clearly unhappy to have her breakfast disturbed, then a smile spread across her face.

"What have we got here?"

"We found this one snooping around by the dungeon tower," said Borgman.

"Oh, really?" She turned to Elsa, and said in a mocking tone, "Come to fetch your little sister home?"

Elsa shook off the men's hands, and drew herself up to her full height. "Yes, of course. Now, if you will have her brought in from whatever cell she is in, we can leave."

"Or what? You'll turn me into a block of ice? I don't think so. No, it wasn't easy, it wasn't cheap, but the witch I found assured me you'll never make so much as a snowflake for the rest of your life."

Elsa glared at her.

"Give it a try—go ahead, freeze me. Stand back, boys. The famous Queen Elsa's going to show you some of her ice magic."

Brill and Borgman backed away. They looked uneasy.

"Come on, this is your big opportunity. Show us what you can do."

Elsa was working hard to maintain her calm.

"Nothing? Nothing at all? Oh, poor thing." Alexandra turned to Brill and Borgman. "Toss her in one of the cells." She waved them out.

They grabbed her by the arms again and headed towards the door. Just then, Prince Hans came in. "Well, look who came to visit! Where's your friend with the sword?" He looked over his shoulder. "Did he go on his way once he dumped that snowy little thing on you?" Elsa found herself in the peculiar position of dragging Borgman and Brill towards the doors to get away from Hans.

"Seen your sister yet?" Hans asked with a snicker as they went out into the courtyard. Elsa wondered what he meant by that remark.

They were marching a very downcast Elsa across the courtyard towards the tower, when she saw Anna walking toward the great hall, with a bandit walking respectfully two paces behind her. Anna was wearing a new, elegant, even regal, gown. Elsa waited until Anna was close to her, then tried again to escape. She broke free of the two men's grips, and ran to Anna. "Anna! I'm here to rescue you! Come on!" She reached her hand out to take Anna's hand.

Anna pulled her hand away, stopped and looked at her sister. Borgman rushed up and grabbed her arm again.

"You obviously haven't heard my news."

"What news?"

"Prince Hans and I have decided to marry."

"What about Kristoff?"

"Kristoff is a buffoon, guileless, humble, simple. I can't think what I ever saw in him," Anna replied.

"He's also courageous, loyal and trustworthy."

"You marry him, then, if he's such a catch." Her voice almost hissed. "I'll marry Hans; we have so many common goals."

Hans had sauntered out from the great hall. Elsa turned towards him. "What do you want from me?"

Hans answered, "Not your blessing this time, Queen Elsa! Once we marry, you will write a letter abdicating the throne, Anna will become Queen of Arendelle, and she'll have me made King."

"Anna, can't you see he's trying to manipulate you? You'll be a figurehead, while he will rule Arendelle."

Anna smiled back at her.

"Well, I won't abdicate."

"Oh, I think you will, eventually," Hans said.

Brill and Borgman turned her around and started to take her to the tower. Elsa dug in her heels and tried to stop them, but they pulled her along, all the same. "Anna, help me!" she cried out desperately.

Anna laughed.

A Visit from Prince Hans

The cell proved to be in the basement of the tower, dark and dim, with only a small, barred window above Elsa's head to let in light and air. Brill and Borgman shoved her in and left, locking the heavy door behind them. Elsa sat down on the cot, and tried to think what to do next.

She put the canteen and the food bag on the cot beside her, started to look through the food bag, and found that Johan had slipped in some fruit from his own supplies, in case they were split up. She smiled as she looked at the apples. It was nice to know you had friends.

There was noise outside her cell, so Elsa quickly stuffed everything back in the bag. The door opened, and Prince Hans walked in. The room grew colder. "Your majesty," he greeted her, and followed with an elaborate, courtly bow. Elsa stood, and nodded towards him, doing her best to behave regally, even in a dungeon, even wearing the oversized, worn brown coat.

"I wanted to call on you briefly, your majesty." He walked around the cell, looking it over. "I fear that Princess Anna and I may have left you with the impression that things between the two of us are irrevocably settled. This isn't yet the case. There are still some other possibilities."

"Possibilities?"

He leaned in close as if to confide in Elsa. "I don't think that Princess Anna can be trusted. You grew up with her. Didn't you notice that?"

"No, I always trusted my sister. It was me and my magic I didn't trust."

"Maybe you were deceived by your sister: you should think about that while sitting in this dark dungeon cell, with no hope of help or escape."

"Watching her since she joined us, I've started to reconsider the issue of marriage. I had no sooner started to think things over again, when you showed up, and it struck me that you might be a better choice for a bride. There'd be no need for a messy abdication; we'd just marry and I'd move into the castle, I'd rule Arendelle, and you'd . . . be free to enjoy yourself."

"Enjoy myself? Prince Hans, with no magic and no duties, I have no idea what I'd do with myself."

"Oh, you could follow the usual feminine pursuits: planning meals, embroidery, raising that snow creature of yours, making a comfortable home for your beloved husband." Elsa just stood there, trying to comprehend such a life. "Well, I can see my little proposal has taken you by surprise. You think about it, though, and let me know—but don't wait too long; I might have to go through with the marriage to your sister."

He turned, tapped on the door for the guards to open it, and left.

Anna Visits Elsa

Elsa sat thinking about Hans' visit for an hour. She didn't love him or want to marry him: he'd tried to kill her and usurp her throne. Nor did she trust him to rule Arendelle fairly and well, whether with her or Anna sitting beside him. His willingness to turn on her sister with no consideration for her feelings also troubled Elsa. She was still mulling this over in her mind when she heard a key in the lock, the door opened, and Anna slipped in.

Elsa leapt to her feet and started towards Anna. Anna stepped back against the door and swept out a large knife, almost a short sword. "Don't even think about attacking me!"

Elsa screeched to a halt just short of the knife point. "Anna, I wasn't going to attack you; I was going to hug you. You have no idea how happy I am to see you!"

"Yeah, right."

Elsa took two steps back, putting a little distance between her and the knife. She took a deep breath, and said firmly, "Anna, I want you to come back with me to Arendelle."

"Oh, I'm going back to Arendelle, alright, but I'm going back as queen."

"You always told me you were happy not to be queen; you didn't want the responsibility."

Anna turned and walked towards the wall, then turned again and began to walk back towards the other wall. "Oh, was I supposed to tell you I wanted to overthrow you? That would get me thrown in the dungeon, and chained to the wall. You weren't interested in sharing any of your power. Even in the Southern Isles, they let Alexandra have the meaningless position of patron of the chocolatiers, far more than you ever did for me."

"Anna, I'm so sorry. If I'd had any idea you were interested in something like that . . . "

"Well, it's too late now. I'm going to marry Hans, you'll abdicate, and I'll rule Arendelle."

Elsa paused, confused: where did Prince Hans fit in Anna's plans? "Oh, I'd thought the two of you would rule jointly, or perhaps he'd be in charge."

"Hans, in charge? Have you talked to him? The man's an insipid, self-centered idiot!"

"I thought you loved him!"

"Oh, puh-lease! It isn't about love, it's about power! You're in prison, and you'll be forced to abdicate, sooner or later. You're far too weak to rule, anyway. That leaves Hans and me to squabble over who will rule Arendelle. Oh, and Princess Alexandra, at least in her dreams."

"So, you'll force me to abdicate. What will you do with me then?"

"Be a good girl and abdicate promptly and don't cause problems, and you can be maid of honor at my wedding, and we'll trot you out for Christmas holidays. Be uncooperative, and your future is a long line of dungeon cells."

Elsa was stunned by the cynicism on the part of this woman who looked like her sister, but didn't behave anything like the Anna she knew and loved. Then she realized the room was getting cooler, the cold emanating from Anna. Anna must have a piece of the Goblin Mirror inside her, too!

Then Elsa had an idea. "Anna, please, please forgive me for all the things I've done to you. You're my sister, and I love you. I never intended to hurt you!" Anna took a step towards her. Just a couple more steps, Elsa thought, and she could take Anna's hand, bring back her own powers and free Anna from the curse of the Goblin Mirror. Anna took another step towards Elsa.

Then Anna turned away. "You are so pathetic! You're not fit to rule Arendelle or anywhere else. You couldn't even handle Alexandra's job of patron of the chocolate makers!" She rapped on the door, it opened, and she left. Elsa stood there, shocked, watching her leave.

She began to pace back and forth across the little room. "Come on, Elsa! Pull yourself together. You've got to come up with a plan to save your sister!"

An Offer after Dark

Time passed. The door opened again, and a guard brought in a bowl of stew, some bread and some water. Elsa told the guard, "It's been a hard day for me and I'm not really hungry. Would you care to have the food?" The guard grunted, and took the meal away. Looking out the little barred window in the door, Elsa could see him eating it. She contented herself with a little of the water from her canteen.

The light from the little outdoors window faded and Elsa lay down to sleep. She was deep in dreams of Arendelle, skating with Anna, sledding with Anna, playing in the snow with Anna, when the door to the cell crashed open. Elsa opened her eyes to see the two menacing looking guards who attended Alexandra, standing there with torches. She sat up blinking her eyes. One of them said, "Get up. You're coming with us." Seeing nothing else to do, she stood, and each of them grabbed an arm and marched her out of the cell, up the stairs, down the exterior stairs, and across the courtyard. They went to a small building leaning against the castle wall, knocked, opened the door, and thrust her in.

Princess Alexandra was seated on a large chair facing the door. Elsa stopped in front of her, looked around for another chair, didn't see one, and remained standing.

"I hear you've had visitors: my brother, your sister."

Alexandra seemed to know what went on in the castle, so there was no point in lying, "Yes."

"Let's see, Hans offered to marry you so you could remain queen while he ran the country. What did Anna offer?"

"I'd abdicate, she'd become queen, and I would get to be out in public for holidays."

"You think either one is better than spending the rest of your life in a dungeon?"

"I suppose so."

Alexandra held up a vial full of dark liquid. "Do you know what this is?"

"No."

"This is the antidote to the potion that stripped you of your powers!"

Elsa was surprised, "Oh! I had no idea there was an antidote." Alexandra had her full attention.

"I've been thinking about the matter. It seems strange to me, but perhaps I finally begin to understand. With your power, you could have taken over any of the neighboring countries, yet you have been content to rule Arendelle."

"I had planned to marry my brother off to your sister; they would be queen and king, while I actually ran Arendelle. However, I've reconsidered: With your support, I could combine the northern kingdoms into a great empire. I'd be the empress, of course, but you would rule Arendelle for me as queen. If he can behave himself, Hans could rule the Southern Isles. I've met the old duke's second son: he would make a good Duke of Weselton." She paused thoughtfully for a moment. "I haven't decided who to entrust Lejonskoping to."

"You do dream big! What about Anna?"

"She'll be a hostage for your good behavior. I'd need an oath of allegiance from you first, and she would be a guarantee that you'd keep your promises. I suppose I could allow you to visit her in her cell from time to time."

"You do seem to have thought this through. How long do I have to decide?"

"The wedding for Hans and your sister is the day after tomorrow."

Elsa nodded.

"You can let yourself out and my guards will escort you back to your cell. I'll check with you tomorrow evening to see what you've decided."

Clearly dismissed, and also very happy to get out of the chilly room, Elsa turned and left.

Johan Rides for Help

Johan had rushed along the woodland paths in the dark, hoping to catch Elsa. At one point the path passed close to the open area surrounding the castle. He slipped off the trail and scanned the ground around the tower from behind a large tree. There she was, carefully climbing over the fallen wall of the castle. He watched as she crept around the tower, then he saw Borgman and Brill come up on her from behind. He shouted a warning, but she didn't hear him, and it was too late, anyway.

He'd watched grimly while she was dragged off to the great hall. Then, he watched them drag her back to the tower. When Elsa didn't reappear, he'd ridden to the nearest Lejonskoping army post, four hours away. Once there, he'd written to the king describing the bandit's castle and asking for help. He also wrote to Mr. Bjornson, describing the situation. Then he tackled Colonel Langeborg, the garrison commander and an old friend, "Colonel, could you lend me 50 soldiers to storm Illsku castle?"

The colonel was busy straightening piles of papers. "Johan, you were nowhere near this amusing when we were in the wars together."

"I'm not trying to be amusing. The King wanted me to scout out the border for the brigands who have been raiding across the borders. They're at Illsku. Moreover, they've stirred up trouble with Arendelle . We need to do something before we have serious problems on our hands. How about 40 men?"

Langeborg rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Thirty?"

"Look, Johan, I can give you ten men to watch the castle. We're expecting reinforcements late tomorrow or the next day, a regiment of lancers with the King leading them and Prince Lars and maybe the Queen with him. You know, a royal visit to the more obscure corners of his kingdom, and all that. You'll have to wait until the King's reinforcements arrive if you want to storm that place. Besides, I know more than one of my boys would desert if they heard you were taking them to Illsku. They think it's haunted."

"Ten!" He shook his head in dismay; he needed far more men and he needed them quickly, without waiting for reinforcements from the capital. Still, if this was all Langeborg could offer . . . "Fine, when can we leave?"

"Ask for volunteers at the parade tomorrow morning. You tell them they're going to Illsku, or I will."

"I'll tell them. How about supplies?"

"I'll have my adjutant cut orders—getting that lined up should take you until well into the night!" He slapped Fishar on the shoulder. "I miss the old days with you—I'm half inclined to ride along with you tomorrow!"

"I almost forgot," Langeborg walked around his desk to a wardrobe. "If you're going to lead the King's troops, you'll need a uniform." Langeborg opened the wardrobe, "Fortunately, Ragnar sent out your old uniform a few months ago, figuring you'd need it sooner or later. Hope you haven't outgrown it," he joked, and handed Johan a blue hussar uniform, with silver braid.

Johan was up early the next morning. He put on the old uniform, paused to look at himself in the mirror, and smiled at the reflected image. At the parade, he got his ten cavalry volunteers, plus three infantrymen who came along to take care of the pack horses. The little column set off a couple hours later. One of the infantrymen led Snowball, tied to the last pack horse. Johan intended to rescue Elsa, and she would need her horse when he did. Johan calculated as they rode: it would be midafternoon before they arrived at Illsku.

Prince Hans returns

It was a little after sunrise when Elsa was awakened by Prince Hans knocking, then opening the cell door. "You look so beautiful this morning!"

A night in a prison cell certainly hadn't left her feeling beautiful, but she sat up and tried to pat her hair into place.

"Have you reached a decision? You've had plenty of time."

"Not really. Before I could make up my mind, Anna visited me to make her own offer, which had some good points. Then Alexandra had me over for a visit, and made a third offer."

"Alexandra! What did she have to offer?"

"Enough that I am uncertain as to the best course of action."

"She won't keep her promises, you know. She never does! " He started pacing, obviously agitated; Elsa sat on the cot and pulled her feet up, to stay out of his way. "She tells everybody I'm her favorite brother, just because she raised me, but when something like this comes up, Wham! She sells me out so she can get ahead!"

"Well, this time she's not going to get away with it! You and me, we'll be married—I'll come for you tonight after dark. We'll show her."

"I can't leave without Anna!"

"She won't be much of a problem—I'll have her tied up, gagged and tossed over the back of a horse," he said, rubbing his nose. "Tonight!"

"But . . ."

Hans was out the door before she could present her next objection.

Anna Comes to Lunch

Anna came in at the same time lunch did. "Stew's not bad today, bread tastes like they put dirt in it."

"You're welcome to my stew," Elsa said resignedly. "I haven't felt like eating." True enough, however Elsa also wanted to please Anna, so she could have an opportunity to get close to her.

Anna sat down at the far end of the bed and took a spoonful of stew. "I hear you've been trying to wrap Hans around your little finger, convincing him to marry you, and cutting me out."

"No, that was his idea. Like you, I grew up hearing mother's and father's stories of their courtship and reading about romance and true love. Hans did try to kill me, you recall. That's not exactly the true love you find in stories. If you really want him instead of Kristoff, I'll gladly stand aside and let you have him."

"Humph!" replied Anna suspiciously, stuffing another spoonful of stew in her mouth.

Elsa reached out towards her sister, hoping to take her hand, "Anna, I'd really like for you to come home to Arendelle with me. We don't belong here."

Anna scooted away. However, Elsa had once again felt the cold flowing off her, confirming her suspicion that Anna must have a bit of the Goblin Mirror inside her. She needed Anna to help restart her magic, but she could see Anna wouldn't willingly help her.

"You said yesterday that you'd let me be your bridesmaid if I'd abdicate. Would I retain a title? Queen would be best, of course, but princess royal or even plain old princess might work."

Anna looked up, with a touch of suspicion, "You'd do that for me?"

"I'm thinking about it. None of you have offered particularly enticing terms. Yours are better, if not by much. Besides, you're my sister."

Anna stuffed the last of the stew in her mouth. "Now you're coming to your senses! I'll send some paper, pen and ink down so you can write up your abdication. Try to say a few good things about me while you're at it." She put the empty bowl on the floor and turned to leave.

"Anna, aren't you forgetting something?" Anna looked at her curiously. "A hug! Sisters do that, you know!"

"Oh, alright." She grimaced, hugged Elsa quickly, turned again and left.

Elsa waited patiently until the sound of footsteps had faded away, then she crept to the door and looked out at the guard. He had settled on to his stool and was eating his stew and bread, as well as Elsa's bread. He'd be busy for a bit. "OK, OK, I need to see if this worked. What to do? Something small, something nobody would notice if they came in. But what?" She waved her hand and a tiny spiraling cloud of snow rose to eye level. Elsa smiled, then actually laughed quietly. She had magic again. She sat down to think about how to rescue Anna and escape from Illsku castle.

Kristoff and Johan

Johan was leading his little column, watching ahead carefully. Now, up where a smaller trail from the west joined the one he and his men were using, he saw movement and color. He waved for his men to halt, and rode forward alone. He could see there were about as many riders as he had with him. They wore green coats. After a moment, he called out, "Who rides there?"

The column halted, the riders turned to face him, and he could hear somebody riding back from the front to meet him. The rider drew closer, then stopped, still obscured by tree branches and leaves. "We're in pursuit of bandits. Have you seen them?"

"No," Johan replied, "but I think you must be looking for the men at Illsku Castle. We are after them, too. Judging by the green coats your men wear and the direction you've come from, you are from Arendelle. You crossed into Lejonskoping several miles back. You're invading our country. Please go back home; we'll take over from here."

The riders from Arendelle grumbled at being told to go away. Their leader rode closer. "Those bandits carried off our friends; we're not going back without them."

Things were not looking good at all, when somebody called out, "Johan! Look, I brought help for Queen Elsa!"

"Wait, Olaf, do you know this guy?" asked the leader of the Arendelle riders.

"Sure, Kristoff! This is Queen Elsa's friend, Johan." As Johan watched, the two snow people rode forward on Sven the reindeer.

"Hi, Captain Fishar!"

"Good afternoon, Nieves. You look quite fetching in Olaf's fur cap." He turned to look curiously at Olaf. "Olaf, are you quite well? Your snow clouds look much lighter."

"I thought she looked nice, too, so I decided we could take turns wearing the cap," Olaf said.

"Very kind of you. Could you introduce me to your friends?"

Kristoff looked at the two snow people, and decided to introduce himself, rather than letting the snow people do it. "I'm Kristoff, the Ice Master of Arendelle, and those bandits have kidnapped Princess Anna."

Johan rode forward and extended a hand. "Captain Johan Fishar, Royal Leonskoping Hussars." They shook hands, perhaps a trifle coolly.

"You shouldn't be here. You're in Lejonskoping without authorization!"

"Well, we aren't going back without Anna!"

Johan looked at him. He seemed quite determined. He thought about the situation carefully for a moment. Straightening out the border violation would take time, and he felt a desperate need to press on to Illsku. He made a decision.

"How many men do you have?"

"Nine volunteers, plus me. Also Olaf and Nieves," he added.

"I have ten mounted men, three foot soldiers and me. Between us, we might have enough to storm Illsku Castle. Are you in?"

Kristoff looked back at his followers, and nodded.

"Well, if anybody asks, you're all Lejonskoping volunteers."

Kristoff and Johan crouched behind a rock outcropping, looking down at the castle. The most likely place for Anna and Elsa to be was the old round tower at the back of the castle. This was also the point where the castle wall was in the worst shape, and the best place to break in. Johan explained his plan to Kristoff, who made a couple suggestions, and the two troops turned off the road to cut through the forest and approach the castle from the rear.

They dismounted, tied their horses to trees, left Olaf, Nieves, and two men to guard them, and began to advance on the castle.

Elsa Escapes

Elsa was experiencing a delight in the use of her powers comparable to what she'd felt when she ran away from her coronation ball. She could work magic again! She wound up for a great blow to knock the cell door out of the wall: she looked on in dismay as a few splinters flew.

The guard yelled, "You in there! If you break your cup throwing it at the door, you won't get a new one!" She turned and tried to blow a hole in the stone wall, but only managed to knock a few crumbs of the mortar loose from between the stones. She shook her head in dismay. It seemed that she couldn't really work powerful magic, yet. No fjord freezing, just making ice cubes for punch.

So, after thinking about the situation, she tried something different: sending her ice into the lock, where it built up, pressing between the wards of the lock, rather like a key, until the door was unlocked and slowly drifted open. Elsa peeked around the door. The guard seemed to be asleep, having eaten well, but just in case, she froze his sword in his scabbard and froze a dangling tail of his coat to the stool he was sitting on. For good measure, she froze one of his shoelaces to the other, and smiled. Then, she crept quietly out the door and up the stairs.

She reached the ground floor, which was used as a storeroom. There was no door out, so she continued up the curving stairs to the next floor. This was where the door out of the tower was. It was also where three guards were lounging. One of them saw Elsa, and shouted an alarm. She froze the man's shoes to the floor, and raced for the door.

She came out onto a little wooden landing, with wooden stairs going down to the ground. There seemed to be a commotion, with men running around: some of the men wore green, Arendelle coats. She wondered where in all this mess Anna might be.

Battle at Illsku Castle

Johan kept shaking his head in disbelief: they had crossed the open area between the forest and the castle wall, and nobody had sounded the alarm. Clearly, Kristoff had a rare talent for selecting covered routes of approach. They clambered up over the fallen stones of the wall, and back down to the level of the courtyard. Then, he and Kristoff yelled and led the charge.

Elsa looked back inside the tower and saw the two men rushing after her. A quick wave of her hand coated the landing with a thin layer of ice: the two running men hit it, slid, and crashed through the aged, wooden rail, their fall broken when they landed on several of their comrades below.

Anna had been coming down from the top of the tower, carrying paper, quills and ink for a letter of abdication. These had taken her forever to find. She saw Elsa rush out the door, and the two guards follow her. She put down the writing materials, and ran after them, realized too late the landing was covered with ice and there was no longer a rail. She slid, but just before she went over the edge, Elsa recognized her. "Anna," she cried, and grabbed her sister's arm. Over the edge Anna went, but Elsa's grip was firm. Even so, Elsa was pulled off her feet. Anna came to a halt, dangling precariously; Elsa swung around and began to pull her up. Up she came, and with a final pull, she was on the landing and top stair, sprawled on Elsa.

Elsa started to throw her arms around Anna, but Anna grabbed one arm, twisted, and flipped Elsa over face down on the landing, her arm painfully pinned behind her back. "I don't know how you got out of that cell, but you're going right back in!" The cold flowed off Anna, an unnatural cold, chilling even Elsa.

The third guard had removed his frozen shoes, rushed across the room to the door, while drawing his sword. Now, he stepped cautiously out onto the ice covered landing, saw the two sisters struggling, and lifted his sword to strike. Elsa saw him, desperately tried to pull her other hand out from under her to make an ice wall over them.

Before Elsa could protect them with an ice wall, Anna saw him lift up his sword, saw he intended to strike. As he raised the sword, she looked back and forth between her sister and the guard. Something built up inside her and exploded with a great cry of, "No!" She punched the man in his stomach; he doubled over, losing his footing on the ice, hit the one bit of railing remaining as he stumbled back, took it out and went over, screaming as he fell.

Four little stars had burst out around Anna's head. Elsa saw them, realized they were little bits of the goblin mirror. Anna had loosened her grip and Elsa pulled her hand free, hurled her magic at the stars, and they exploded. Anna was dazed and Elsa shook her head: she was seeing bright flashes.

Anna was still a bit dizzy as she stood and looked inside the tower, and saw the bandit who followed her around, keeping an eye on her, had come down from the top of the tower and was rushing towards the door. He was joined by the guard from down below, struggling to get his sword out of its scabbard, the stool still frozen to his coat, clattering along behind. "Time to get out of here, Elsa!"

Elsa got to her feet, rubbing her arm, which hurt. "Not this way," she said, looking down the stairs, where Brill, Lauss and Borgman were charging up the steps.

"You get them, and I'll see what I can do with these." Anna stood, ducked behind the doorway, and stuck her leg out just as the first bandit reached the door. He thought they'd fled down the steps and wasn't at all prepared for this: he tripped, slid across the landing and fell into a water trough below.

Elsa was exhilarated; her powers were back at full strength now. She looked down at the charging bandits, and iced the steps. Brill was leading; he slipped and hit the stair step with his chin, and slid down, hitting every step with his chin on the way to the foot of the stairs. On the way down, Brill knocked down first Lauss, then Borgman, all of them ending up in a dazed and battered heap at the foot of the steps.

It was then that Elsa realized there was a problem with her plan: she and Anna still had to get down the treacherous, ice coated steps. She looked up, where the second bandit was carefully emerging onto the icy landing. "Anna, remember sliding down the bannisters at home?"

Anna looked at the battered, weathered stair rail, covered with splinters. "Oh, no way! That thing is so full of splinters that I wouldn't be able to sit down for—oh! Well, maybe not if you cover it with ice like that!"

She leapt onto the bannister, just as the guard swung his sword at her. He missed, lost his balance and ended up dropping the sword and clinging to the doorframe.

Below, Kristoff saw Anna leap for the bannister, and raced for the foot of the stairs to catch her. Neither Kristoff, for all his experience with ice, nor Anna, for all her considerable experience with the castle bannisters, anticipated the speed you could reach on an ice coated bannister. Kristoff had just reached the foot of the stairs and hadn't had time to brace himself, when Anna crashed into him, landing the two of them in a tangle of limbs. Just as they were scrambling to their feet, Elsa cried "Look out!" She slid down the bannister, just as the other two stood up and each grabbed one of her arms.

As they looked around, Anna said, "We have got to try this on the bannisters at home!"

Elsa smiled, happy to have her sister back; Kristoff just shook his head.

"Hans and Alexandra—we have to save them!" cried Elsa.

"What?" said Anna and Kristoff simultaneously. Johan, who had just joined them, looked at her questioningly.

"No, really, we can save them! I can drive out the pieces of Goblin Mirror."

Johan nodded, looked around, saw Prince Hans. He headed off, then turned to Elsa, "Okay, stay here, I'll get him."

"Wait!" she said as he ran off, but he didn't hear her.

One of the bandits was driving back a soldier from Arendelle, and was in Johan's way. He brought the pommel of his sword down on the man's head, knocking him out, and leapt over him as he fell. Hans was fighting a man from Lejonskoping. The whole pommel thing had worked out so well, Johan whacked Hans and knocked him out. Before he could hit the ground, Johan was bending down to throw Hans over his shoulder and carry him out.

That was when he saw three bandits, swords drawn, charging him. His own saber was in its scabbard and his hands were full of Prince Hans. He turned, and almost crashed into Elsa. "Turn! Run!"

"No! We don't have time!" cried Elsa, who realized that carrying Hans, Johan wouldn't be able to run fast enough to escape. She waved her hands and covered the ground in front of the three men with ice. They slipped, lost their balance, slid, and crashed into a water trough.

Johan stopped, watching in awe. "OK, next time, you can stand beside me!"

"It's a deal!" she said and shook his hand.

Hans was dumped unceremoniously on the ground and tied up. Anna, who had cautiously climbed part way up the icy stairway called out, "There! There's Alexandra, heading for the gate!"

Elsa ran up beside her. She saw Alexandra, took a deep breath, and sent a bolt of ice magic at her. Alexandra's head was wreathed in a dozen or more tiny bits of goblin mirror, she stopped, swayed, and collapsed. Her two guards saw her fall, and rushed to her aid, trying to drag her off. Kristoff and Johan both saw this, and ran to capture Alexandra.

Meanwhile, Elsa turned her magic to the lesser task of destroying the shimmering little bits of mirror that sparkled in the sky, exploding them with a bang and a flash, and the bandits took notice. Crying "Sorcery!" and "Black magic!" they turned and fled. Alexandra's two guards fell back, shocked by the flashing and banging of the exploding bits of mirror.

Kristoff scooped up the unconscious Alexandra and headed back, while Johan covered his retreat. Alexandra's two body guards came after them. Johan punched one in the jaw, using the guard of his saber as an improvised set of brass knuckles, and the man slumped to the ground. The other guard swept up a rotting plank like a club and swung it at Johan. He blocked the blow with his left hand and arm, and tried to roll with the blow, hitting the ground then bouncing back onto his feet. He came up with his saber still in his right hand in a defensive position, but his left arm hanging limply at his side, his hand and fingers hanging loosely in their battered glove like so much dead weight. Elsa saw him take the blow, gasped "Johan!" When he bounced back up, she sighed with relief. Then, she struck. The man with the plank was about to swing it again when she covered the end with a huge ball of ice. His gloating look changed suddenly to an expression of surprise. The man toppled over backwards, hit his head on the great chunk of ice and was knocked senseless. Johan turned and saw her, smiled, and waved his sword in thanks.

Anna rushed up and hugged her sister, "You did it! You broke Alexandra's spell and got your magic back, you turned the tables on Hans and Alexandra, and you beat those bandits!"

"We did it, Anna! Being with you restarted my magic. Kristoff and Johan attacking the castle gave us a diversion and the chance to get Hans and Alexandra. Together, we beat those two and their gang of bandits!"

Johan smiled a crooked little smile, and slipped off. He set soldiers to destroying food supplies (which might be contaminated), and preparing to burn the wooden parts of the castle. One of the soldiers from Arendelle had thought to bring along medical supplies, so he borrowed some cloth to bandage his left arm and hand, and make himself a sling.

He found an out of the way corner, sat down and was carefully cutting away the torn remnants of the glove from his left hand with his knife, when Elsa found him. "I saw that man hit you with that post. I wanted to make sure you were OK." she said in her quiet voice. "I also wanted to thank you for everything you did."

"Thanks aren't necessary, your majesty; after all, dealing with the bandits who had leagued themselves with Prince Hans and Princess Alexandra was my reason for being in the mountains. I should thank you for covering the man's club with ice. I don't know if I'd have been able to avoid a serious injury a second time.

She paused, uncertain as to how to proceed.

"My magic can't heal your injuries; still, I can help you bandage your hand."

"Thank you, your majesty, but I can manage."

She just stared at him for a moment in disbelief. "Johan, I was there. I saw the man hit your hand with that log. I saw how your arm hung limp afterwards. I'm surprised you're not bleeding all over. I don't even know how you are still on your feet and not being carried around on a stretcher, or, . . . or. " Elsa realized she was getting emotional, and paused for a moment.

"Truly, your majesty, it isn't as bad as it might have looked, and I can manage."

Elsa was starting to feel a bit annoyed at the polite rejection of her help, but tried again. "Johan, I've come to think of you as a friend. Do you think of me as a friend?"

A bit surprised, he looked up from the glove he'd been trying to remove, "Yes, if it isn't too presumptuous of me, your majesty."

"And friends do help each other out, don't they, Johan. With my two hands and your good hand, bandaging the injured hand will go much better, won't it?"

"Yes, your majesty," replied Johan, who realized he had just been maneuvered out of his position.

"Please call me Elsa. Friends, remember?"

"Yes, your . . ." Her eyes flicked up at his. "Elsa."

"Good," she smiled.

"Would you mind terribly if I remove the remaining bits of glove? I promise I'll let you handle the bandaging then."

She sat down opposite Johan. "Of course." She had won her battle, and could afford to be gracious.

He worked carefully, cutting the length of the glove. Elsa braced herself for its removal, preparing to look on blood, torn flesh and shattered bone. Finally, he put down his knife, and jerked the ruined glove free. Instead of the raw flesh, Elsa had been expecting, she saw the splintered remains of a beautifully carved and painted wooden hand. There were bloodstains on the cuff of his dolman where the hand connected to his arm. "Oh, my!" Her eyes flashed from his hand to his face. "This is what you meant when you said you were crippled," she said, realization dawning on her.

He nodded. "During the wars, there were four of us, young officers, the best of friends. We ate together, rode together, and shared one big tent on campaign. One day, we were set upon by some dragoons. My friend Langeborg was unhorsed, I came to his aid. I managed to save his life, but I lost my hand."

He undid the straps that held the hand onto his arm, and pulled the end cup free from his stump. The heavy blow had driven the wooden hand back against his stump, which was oozing blood. He carefully, gingerly moved his elbow, and decided it wasn't dislocated. Johan felt along the lower arm, "I don't know, I don't think it's fractured." He began to wipe the blood away. Elsa took the leather harness and began to clean the blood off it, paying attention to the task, and not looking up at Johan.

When she finished cleaning the leather, she looked at Johan and handed the harness back to him. "I'm sorry. I didn't know. I hadn't intended to embarrass you."

He smiled at her, "I know. As you said, friends do help each other out." Now that the harness was back on his arm, he picked up the bandage material, and held it in place on his lower arm. "Could you wrap up my hand and arm? Then we'll use the rest of the cloth to make a sling."

She wrapped his arm, brought the cloth around his broken wooden hand to hold it in place, then fashioned a sling and slipped his arm into it. He stood up and relaxed his shoulders, letting the sling carry the weight of his arm. He sighed. "That's much better, thank you . . . Elsa."

"You're welcome, Johan."

Kerfuffle

It was an hour before they left the castle. They burned the food, packed up valuables to return to their owners, and Elsa destroyed a great many bits of goblin mirror which seemed to be in the ground at the castle, or inside some of the bandits they had captured. The continuing explosions and flashes kept the other bandits running away as fast as they could go. Elsa also used her magic on Hans, removing quite a collection of pieces of mirror and destroying them.

Once she had finished with the bits of Goblin Mirror, Elsa watched Johan arranging things, realized he'd be going back to Lejonskoping while she went back to Arendelle.

Anna watched her as her eyes followed Johan around the courtyard. "What are you thinking?"

Elsa shook her head, and turned her attention to Anna. "Nothing, really." She paused. "Captain Fishar does seem to be very organized and efficient, doesn't he?"

"Oh, I thought you might be thinking he looks quite the dashing cavalier in his uniform and moustache.

"Anna!"

"Or wondering if the moustache would tickle if he kissed you."

"Well, actually, I don't think . . . Oh, Anna! Do be serious!"

"Alright, you said he's organized and efficient: ask him to come back with us and find him a job around the palace."

"Don't be silly, Anna! He works for his brother here in Lejonskoping. He wouldn't want to go to Arendelle." She tried to push the issue aside.

"You don't know that unless you ask."

"Oh, Anna!"

"OK, let's take this slowly. You like him, don't you?"

"Yes, but . . ."

"And you clearly think he could be of use."

"Of course."

"And he is quite handsome."

"Well, yes," she replied a bit dreamily. "What?"

Elsa shook her head, "Don't be silly, Anna. You can check with the court chamberlain, but I'm pretty sure he'll tell you retired cavalry captains rate even lower in order of precedence than ice masters. Parliament wouldn't let you marry Kristoff; there would be a huge kerfuffle if I suggested marrying Captain Fishar. Besides, what man in his right mind would want to marry a woman who might turn him into an icicle if she got mad at him?"

"Talk to him!" She linked arms with her sister. "You and I will deal with the kerfuffle together. Sisters, remember?"

On the Road Again

It was getting dark when they set out, Johan with the Lejonskoping cavalry leading the way, followed by the queen, Anna, Alexandra and Hans (both still unconscious and slung over the backs of horses), the pack ponies, the prisoners, then Kristoff and the men of Arendelle. Sven walked beside Kristoff, carrying Olaf, and Nieves rode with Elsa on Snowball.

Nieves asked Elsa, "Mom, what do you think of Olaf?"

Elsa shook herself out of her mood. "I like him, of course. You seem to have come around to liking him."

"Yup! He can really dance! And he can be so enthusiastic about all sorts of things."

"Captain Fishar's enthusiastic about things in his own way."

"I know, mom, but he's not like Olaf."

"Nobody is like Olaf," Elsa said with a smile.

Elsa was quiet for a while, thinking as she rode a little ahead of Anna. Then she dropped back to ride beside her sister. At first, they rode together in silence. Then, Anna said, "When I was imprisoned back there, "she nodded over her shoulder, back in the direction of Illsku, "I told Hans and Alexandra you'd come to rescue me and freeze their noses to their toes so they had to smell their own stinky feet."

Elsa giggled quietly at the image, then looked at her sister. "As it worked out, I think we rescued each other." Then, she looked a bit more concerned. "So now you want me to freeze them?"

"No, no, that's just it. I don't feel a need for you to do that now."

Elsa reached over and rubbed her sister's arm. "Good for you, little sister!"

Anna nudged her horse closer to Elsa, looked around to make sure Kristoff was too far away to hear, and spoke quietly. "Elsa, I have vague, fuzzy memories of having said the most horrible things about Kristoff while I was at Illsku Castle, under the influence of those bits of goblin mirror."

Elsa thought about that for a moment. "And now you're worried that this might be the way you feel about him, deep down inside?"

Anna examined the horse's mane; her answer was uncharacteristically quiet. "Well, maybe just a little."

"If you're asking my advice, I think this self-doubt might be just one more effect of those little pieces of the Goblin Mirror that got inside you. Grand Pabbie would know more about it than I do, and I think, Anna, when we get back to Arendelle, you and Kristoff should go with me to visit Pabbie."

"That sounds like fun! I like the trolls."

"I know, though there will also be some business involved. I think Pabbie could explain things, and relieve your doubts. Then, there is another problem I've been thinking about: you see, Anna, you shouldn't have been able to expel those pieces of goblin mirror the way you did."

"I could never have done it if that bandit hadn't been about to kill you.'

"You shouldn't have been able to do it, even so. I think you may have absorbed a little of my magic when we brought it back, and now you may have magic of your own."

"Me, too!?"

Anna Plays Matchmaker

After a few minutes, Anna dropped back to tell Kristoff her news. They rode together, Kristoff holding Anna's hand as they rode. After a bit, she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. Then she trotted forward to visit Captain Fishar.

"So, why are you riding up here at the front instead of with us?"

"If we were to meet messengers or reinforcements from Leonskoping, it would be best if I were on hand to explain why there are soldiers here from Arendelle, not to mention members of their royal family," he smiled and nodded towards Anna. "They will want to be reassured you aren't the vanguard of a mighty invasion force." She could see him smiling in the dusk.

"Makes sense." They rode in silence for a few minutes.

"My sister really likes you."

"I like her, too."

"So why don't you ride back there and ask her to marry you?"

He looked at her. Anna smiled her brightest smile. Johan started to say something, stopped, and started again after a pause. "Princess Anna, the Queen is beautiful, she wields the most amazing magic, and she is, after all, the Queen. She can do ever so much better than to marry an old cripple." He shook his head.

"Cripple! I saw you fight those bandits and carry Prince Hans around! "

He looked at her curiously. "Your sister didn't tell you about my hand?"

"She hasn't mentioned it." Then Anna realized his left arm was in a sling. "Oh, my gosh, I forgot all about it with everything else going on! How is your hand? You've got it in a sling—I hope it's not be too bad. Could I do anything for you?"

"It will be fine, Princess Anna." He said calmly. "It wasn't as bad as it looked, and your sister helped me bind it up," he reassured her. He relaxed: he hadn't realized he had been sitting so stiffly. He found himself pleased that his friend, Elsa, had not revealed his secret.

Anna didn't seem completely convinced that he was fine, but she decided to drop the issue for the time being. "Still, after all the things I've seen you do, I think you're exaggerating the cripple business."

"Sadly, I'm not. Your sister knows now, and I'm sure she has put aside all thoughts of marriage with me—even assuming she entertained any such ridiculous notions in the first place."

"I could talk with her; convince her that it doesn't matter."

He looked nervous, almost frightened, and shook his head. "Please don't, Princess Anna. I wouldn't want any woman to marry me out of sympathy, or pity, especially not one like the Queen."

Anna could see his point, but made up her mind to talk to Elsa about the situation, anyway.

Hoping to avoid further questioning, Johan asked, "How are you feeling, Princess Anna?"

"You mean the bits of goblin mirror? Fine, just fine!" She almost sang that, then she asked, "Do you know what Elsa says?"

Johan wasn't sure if this was if this was an attempt to change the topic back or not. "No, what does she say?" he replied cautiously.

"Well, after all the suitors who came to her coronation left when she froze the fjord, she said, 'What man would want to marry a woman who might turn them into an icicle if she got mad, anyway?'"

Surprised, he looked at Anna. "She really said that? I gave her credit for being more perceptive."

Anna looked puzzled and just a little offended. "What do you mean by that remark?"

"Back there at Illsku Castle, you saw the three bandits rush towards us, right?" Anna nodded. "Then your sister covered the ground with ice so they slipped, slid and crashed?"

Anna nodded again, and smiled a little at the memory. "Well, so far as I know, there is no reason she couldn't have turned those three into icicles, was there?"

"No, but Elsa would never do that."

"Just my point: I've no doubt she gets angry, we all do, but she would never deliberately use her powers to kill anyone. Especially not somebody she loved."

"No, not on purpose, anyway," replied Anna, remembering her own experiences.

"One more question," Anna promised. "Just how old are you?"

Johan shook his head and smiled, "Are you still trying to establish my eligibility as a suitor?" Anna tried to look innocent of such a dreadful accusation. "One hundred and seven."

Anna turned swiftly and looked at him sternly.

"Oh, very well. Last March, I turned twenty-eight." He smiled again.

"That's not old. Well, I mean, it's older than me, even older than Kristoff or Elsa, but it isn't old, old, like Mrs. Ostrander or Mr. Bjornson."

"Thank you—I think."

"I still think you should ask her." She turned aside to watch the column go by, and rejoin Kristoff. "Good-bye, Johan!"

Johan waved, shook his head sadly and sighed.

Anna and Elsa

Anna fell in beside Elsa. Elsa seemed to be looking straight ahead, but after a moment, she said, "What have you been up to?" in a tone that implied she already suspected.

"Just talking to Johan. I like him. He likes you, you know."

"He and I have established the fact that we're friends. Friends usually do like each other."

"He said that, as queen, you could do much better than to marry a crippled old cavalryman. He also said you knew all about him being crippled. I didn't point out that you hadn't bothered to tell me anything about it."

"It's his secret, Anna. It's not for me to tell." Elsa had used her best end-of-discussion voice; Anna looked like she was still curious but, after a moment, she nodded.

"Whatever it is, he seems to manage quite well in spite of it."

"Very well, indeed, I think. He is extremely self-conscious about it, though."

"So, if he were to ask you to marry him, you wouldn't turn him down just because he's crippled?"

Elsa avoided the question. "He has far too much sense to do such a silly thing."

""He said he doesn't think you'd freeze your husband if you got mad at him."

"You didn't ask him that, did you? It could keep parliament from approving your marriage next time." Elsa was seriously concerned.

"You're busy keeping his secret; I think he can be trusted to keep yours."

As a matter of fact, Elsa agreed with her sister, even if she didn't want to tell her that. "Fine." Then, her curiosity getting the better of her, "I probably shouldn't ask, but what else did you find out about him?"

Anna leaned toward her sister in a conspiratorial fashion, "Well, he's 28 now, and his birthday is in March. I think we could do with another spring birthday at the castle, don't you?" With that, Anna smiled, turned and trotted back to join Kristoff.

Soaking Feet in the Moonlight

It was past midnight, and they had paused to rest and water the horses. Johan sat on a rock ledge, dangling his bare feet in the stream below, his boots and socks beside him. He was thinking and half listening to the noise the water made, so he didn't hear Elsa coming up behind him until she spoke.

"Hi."

He started to stand.

"No, no, please don't get up."

He sat back down. They were both silent for a while.

Elsa said, "So, the cavalry does get sore feet." He picked up a sock and wiggled his finger at her through the hole in the heel. "Oh, and holes in their socks, too!" They both smiled.

"I don't think I've ever heard you make a joke."

Elsa was a little offended, "It's not like I don't have a sense of humor!"

"No, of course not: you laugh at my jokes, so you very clearly have a great sense of humor. It's just that you've never made any jokes of your own."

She was silent, thinking about this, then said, "Well, perhaps not. I'm the queen; I'm supposed to be serious."

After a moment, she said, "You know, my feet are a little bit sore, too. Do you think we could share the stream and talk for a few minutes?"

He scooted over, making room for her to sit down, pulled his pelisse off his shoulder, and spread it out for her to sit on.

She took off her shoes and stockings, lifted her skirt up a few inches to keep the hem dry, and sat down beside him, dangling her feet in the cold water.

She reached into the swiftly flowing water with her hand. "You know, while my magic can't heal your wounds or restore your hand, I can do this." She sat up again and passed him a handful of ice. "Put this on the swollen and bruised parts of your arm; it should help some."

"Thank you." He pulled his sleeve back and put the ice on a bruise. "It does feel much better!"

They were silent for a while.

"I suppose you'll be going back to Lejonskoping now that the bandits have been defeated?"

"It will take a week or so to wind everything up, but yes. I was thinking about that just now."

She put her hand on his shoulder. "Look, Johan, I spent 13 years in my bedroom, hiding away from people. Since you left the army, you've been working here, along the border and other places away from people, hiding like me in your own way, because you were so self-conscious about your hand. I think you should talk to your brother about working someplace where you'd meet people."

"Alternatively," and here, she paused, "You know, I am the queen: I know a few people and could pull some strings, if you wanted to work in Arendelle for a while."

He smiled at her understatement. "I had been wondering about that, but I didn't want to presume on your majesty's good will. I'd like to get to know more about Arendelle and its people." He looked at her as he said this.

"Perhaps you could ride with us to Arendelle, and we could see what we could find for you."

"I think I'd like that, though I'd want to talk with my brother first."

"You have a great deal of respect for him."

"Yes, Ragnar's 15 years older than me, so he was kind of a cross between a big brother and a father, and he always looked out for me when I was growing up. My mother died when I was young, so his wife, Estel, has been a sort of mother to me, as well."

Elsa nodded. She took a deep breath and said "Kerfuffle time," to nobody in particular, and leaned towards Johan, trying to bump against him in a playful way. Elsa was a little further from Johan than she thought, and she picked up speed as she leaned, and was going faster than she intended when their shoulders bumped. "Whoops!"

Johan had to catch himself with his left elbow to keep from being knocked over. He was surprised, and said, "Whoa!" Then he smiled, straightened back up, and put his good arm around her shoulder.

Anna and Kristoff had come looking for Elsa and Johan in the dark. They saw the two of them sitting quietly side by side, silhouetted against the moon's reflection on the stream. Anna held out her hand. Kristoff put his hand on top of hers. They bounced their hands up three times, then ended with an excited, but whispered, "Yes!"

After a bit of silence, Elsa asked tentatively, "Do you have any other secrets I should know about?"

"Well, yes, one, though I'd hoped to postpone telling you about it."

"It doesn't involve a wooden foot, does it?"

"No, the rest of me is real."

She suppressed a giggle.

A Meeting with King Ragnar

It was almost dawn when they were challenged by sentries from King Ragnar's camp, and eventually taken to see Ragnar, who was sitting down to breakfast.

"Morning, Johan."

"Good morning, big brother!" Elsa, Anna, and Kristoff turned, and looked at Johan in surprise.

"Been getting into mischief again, I see," he said looking at Johan's arm in its sling. Johan shrugged his shoulders and smiled guiltily.

"Who's the young lady in the ugly coat?"

Queen Estel was sitting beside him. She leaned over and whacked him on the arm with a piece of toast. "Manners, dear."

Johan smiled, stepped forward and made introductions, "Elsa, Queen of Arendelle, this is my brother, King Ragnar of Lejonskoping, his wife Queen Estel," Ragnar and Estel both rose hurriedly to greet their royal guest, "that's my niece, Princess Kirsten over eyeing the toast and jelly." Kirsten gave him a look showing that, while she loved her uncle, he was sometimes clearly an embarrassment to her. Johan looked around, "Ah, there's my nephew, Crown Prince Lars, coming in just now."

"Hey, Uncle Johan," he said.

"Let's see, big brother, over here we have Princess Anna of Arendelle ," Anna curtseyed, "and my friend, Ice Master Kristoff, also of Arendelle." He looked around to see if he'd introduced everyone. "Oh, and the brown coat is mine—I loaned it to the queen."

"Yes, it does look rather like the sort of thing you'd wear. You look well enough in a uniform, but left to dress yourself . . ."

Queen Estell, who realized Johan was holding Elsa's hand, leaned over and whacked her husband on the arm with the toast again, "Behave!"

Elsa looked around, "So, Johan, you're the King's younger brother. That makes you a prince, doesn't it?"

"But not necessarily a handsome one," Lars put in. "I got the looks in the family." He struck a pose. Johan snatched up a piece of toast and flicked it spinning at him. Lars ducked, grabbed the flying toast, smiled and took a bite out of it.

"And none of the brains," Kirsten pointed out.

"Behave, all three of you," Estel said, looking around at them sternly. Lars looked chastened, Johan did his best to look innocent, but Kirsten opened her mouth to protest, and her mother turned to give her The Look. Her mouth snapped shut. Estel turned toward Elsa, "Yes, dear, he is a prince, though he usually has people call him captain. He claims it's because he earned that title, but I suspect it's just to annoy me and thwart my efforts at matchmaking," she added archly.

"Oh, Estel! Would I do such a thing to my favorite sister-in-law?"

"Humph. I'm your only sister-in-law." She shook her head in pretended annoyance.

Johan stopped smiling, looked serious, and turned back to Ragnar. "Your majesty, we stormed Illsku castle yesterday and scattered one of the meanest bunches of bandits in Leonskoping. Me, with 13 men from the garrison here, joined by my friend the Ice Master of Arendelle, with volunteers from across the border. He did a remarkable job of leading the attack, and I thought perhaps knighting him would be a suitable reward for ridding your realm of such bandits." The suggestion clearly caught Kristoff by surprise.

Estel, who was more concerned with propriety and protocol than Ragnar, cut in here. "Johan, don't you think it might offend the Queen of Arendelle," and here she nodded at Elsa, "if Ragnar were to knight one of her subjects without even asking first?"

Johan turned to look at Elsa for her permission. Elsa looked at Johan, he winked and smiled, she looked puzzled for a moment, then realized he had some sort of plan, he winked again, and she turned to the King and Queen and said, "Your majesties, I would be delighted if King Ragnar were to honor my good friend, Ice Master Kristoff." Anna clasped her hands and bounced up and down gleefully.

"Well then, little brother, I hope you won't mind if I wait until after breakfast. Certain parties," his eyes flicked in Estel's direction with a little smile, "won't let me bring my sword to the table, so I'd have to knight him with this slice of bacon!" He waved the bacon around and laughed.

Johan's eyes followed the waving bacon. "Definitely a problem: since we haven't had breakfast, my friend Kristoff and I might eat the bacon before you could knight him!" Kristoff looked on hungrily; Ragnar looked from Johan to Kristoff, then back to Johan, and hastily stuffed the bacon in his mouth.

Estel said, "Of course, Johan, do sit down, all four of you, and have something to eat."

Return to Arendelle

They had returned to Arendelle yesterday. Queen Elsa had agreed to leave the captured bandits for Leonskoping's justice to deal with. They had also left Prince Hans and Princess Alexandra for King Ragnar to deal with. Anna had noticed Hans and Kirsten looking at each other in that way, and mentioned this to Johan. Johan, in turn, had taken Prince Hans aside and explained that, while Kirsten was free to choose her suitors, should Hans treat her anything like the way he had treated Anna and Elsa, then he personally, along with Prince Lars and King Ragnar, would make sure Hans was returned to the Southern Isles in pieces, in a barrel of lye, like so much lutfisk. Hans gulped, glanced across the room at Kirsten chatting merrily with Anna, and agreed that this was fair.

Arrangements had also been made for Prince Etzel Johan Fishar to spend a year in Arendelle, officially to help in various capacities such as facilitating trade and cooperation between the two nations, and to study Arendelle's government and military policies. Unofficially, it gave the queen and the prince a chance to get to know one another better.

Their reception the day before in Arendelle had been tumultuous, and Elsa had been gratified to see how much her subjects really liked her. Now, it was time to get back to business, though.

She and Mr. Bjornson walked down the hallway together, and he opened the door to her study for her. She stepped in, and her shoulders immediately slumped at the sight of a pile of folders containing documents, laws, judgments, and proclamations for her to read and sign that reached as high as her nose. Elsa sighed, "Mr. Bjornson, do we really have to go through all of these today? I'd hoped to have some time to show Prince Johan around the castle. "

"Well, I think we should make a good start at eliminating the pile, but we'll see if we can't arrange some free time for the two of you. Let's see," he looked the stack over thoughtfully, "as always, the red folders contain the most urgent matters, so we should start with them. This one, in particular, I think." He reached for a red folder a third of the way from the top, and began to wiggle it free. The top of the stack swayed ominously, and Elsa jumped up to hold it and keep it from toppling over.

"I think you'll find this interesting, your majesty, he said, opening the folder and scanning the contents. "Parliament has forwarded two related documents for your consideration."

Elsa seated herself at her desk, took the folder, and began to read aloud from the document on the left hand side. "Parliament requests that, in consideration of his heroic actions in trying to prevent Princess Anna's kidnaping and in the storming of Illsku Castle, Ice Master Kristoff be knighted." She looked up at Mr. Bjornson and raised a questioning eyebrow.

"After he was knighted by King Ragnar, we could do no less. Besides, there was some thought that he might prefer to live in Leonskoping , where people appreciate him, your majesty. I personally found this most curious, knowing the young man in question."

She looked up at Mr. Bjornson again; he said nothing, but did his best to admire the ceiling and generally look innocent.

"Well, I certainly have no problems with that request! Mr. Bjornson, could you make arrangements for conferring the knighthood at the earliest . . ."

"It's scheduled for Wednesday morning, your majesty."

Again, she looked up at him curiously, and again he did his best to look innocent.

"Thank you very much, Mr. Bjornson. Alright, let's see," Elsa said turning to the document on the right hand side of the folder. "Parliament has reconsidered in the light of recent events and approves the marriage of Princess Anna and . . . "Again, she looked up at Bjornson, this time certain that he must have played a role in this.

"As an orphan, he has no family here, no reason to stay, no reason not to move to Leonskoping."

Elsa briskly closed the folder, jumped up and headed towards the door, with a speed not entirely in accordance with regal dignity. "I've got to show Anna and Kristoff! Back soon, I promise!"

"Your majesty!"

Elsa popped her head back in the room. Mr. Bjornson was pulling a letter out of his pocket.

"You asked me about things Princess Anna could do to help. I made inquiries, and this morning's mail brought a letter for the princess from the Confectioners' Guild. Perhaps you'd care to deliver it, as well?"

Elsa rushed in, grabbed the letter, kissed him on the cheek, and was gone.

Afterwards

Anna and Kristoff, accompanied by the Queen and Johan, had spent half an hour discussing details of the wedding ceremony with the archbishop. He had graciously made a number of minor changes at the couple's request, but on one issue, he remained firm: Sven could not be the best man. Finally, Kristoff had given in, "Well, I suppose if I really can't have Sven, Johan here will just have to do. I'll tell Sven Johan's really a stand in." Elsa and Anna smiled. Johan looked amused to be runner-up to the reindeer.

Mr. Holst, the chamberlain had spent the past few weeks planning the wedding, and was now in a state of near ecstasy as he explained his plans for the ball. "After the wedding feast, there will be dancing! Of course, Princess Anna and Sir Kristoff, the Ice Master will start the first dance, then your majesty, as the maid of honor and Prince Johan as the best man will join in, then others can follow after a few minutes."

"Couldn't Prince Johan and I just sit it out, looking on benevolently?"

"Oh, no, no, no, no, no, your majesty, that would never do. You and the prince must be first to join the happy couple in their first dance. A terpsichorean wish for their perpetual happiness, as it were."

"Of course." Elsa plopped down in a chair.

"Excuse me, Mr. Holst. What sort of dance will this first dance be?" Johan asked.

"Ah, well traditionally it should be the bride and groom's choice, a dance they enjoy. It would be romantic if it were the dance they had danced together the first time they met. "

They turned to look at Anna, who looked towards her sister. "It doesn't matter, Anna. I don't know any dances."

The chamberlain looked from one to the other. "Oh, dear! That won't do, at all!" He shook his head.

Mr. Bjornson had been watching quietly: at this point he offered a suggestion: "Well, Mr. Holst, perhaps you could go into town and see if the dancing master, Mr. Tegner, has time to assist the queen before the wedding." Holst nodded enthusiastically, grabbed his coat and disappeared down the hallway. Mr. Bjornson followed him out of the room.

Elsa looked at the three of them, then looked at the floor, "I'm sorry, but I never learned how to dance. Oh, I know you did, Anna. I was in my room, but I would hear the music from your lessons, Anna, and I'd dream about going to a ball and dancing, looking oh so grand, grown up and elegant." She sighed. "But the dream would always end up the same way: I'd accidentally freeze my partner, and there I'd be, trying to slide a life size ice sculpture off the dance floor, and hoping nobody would notice." She looked sadly down at the floor.

Anna, however, started to laugh at the picture, and Kristoff and Johan joined in. Elsa stood up and looked sternly at them, hands on her hips. "It isn't funny!" The three of them made marginally successful efforts to control their laughter. "It isn't funny, at all." Still, when your friends are standing around you laughing, it is hard to keep from laughing yourself. "Oh, alright!" Elsa had progressed to a smile. "Perhaps it is funny—a little bit—now, years later. But it was not funny back then!" She joined in the laughter.

"Alright, so you never learned to dance, and I haven't danced in years—we'll make quite a couple! Stand up, and I'll teach you to waltz." Elsa stood up, not at all certain about the proposition. "First, I put my right hand on your back, and you put your left hand on my shoulder. Good. Then, I take your right hand with my left." Elsa's eyes flashed to his wooden hand and back at his face, surprised that he would do anything that drew attention to his missing hand. Then she realized that, for a moment, he had forgotten the hand was missing. He looked up at the new wooden hand in its glove, paused, his smile gone, and took a deep breath. "Yes, there's a problem, but nothing the two of us can't deal with together. Just hold on to my hand. Now, step back with your right foot, while I step forward with my left. Next, back and to your left with your left foot. Now, you bring your right foot over beside your left, just like a mirror version of what I'm doing. Good! Then, I step back with my right foot and you step forward with your left. Forward and to the right with your right foot. Yes! And bring your left foot close to your right, and here we are back where we started." Elsa looked at him, clearly anticipating that the really difficult part was still to come.

"Right, then. Could you two," here he turned to Anna and Kristoff, "whistle a waltz for us, please?"

"OK, then, right foot back. Stop!" He turned around to look sternly at Anna and Kristoff. "This will go much better if both of you whistle the same tune." This time all four of them burst into laughter.

Mr. Bjornson slipped back into the room, and Anna and Kristoff started to whistle the same waltz. After a few bars, the whistling was joined by a clarinet. Elsa, concentrating as she was on where to put her foot next, turned to look, and saw Mr. Bjornson playing his clarinet. She smiled brightly at him, Johan nodded his thanks, Kristoff patted him on the back, and Anna kissed him on the cheek. He dropped a note at that, but kept playing. Relieved of the need to provide music, Anna and Kristoff joined in the dance.

Johan and Elsa practiced. After a bit, they seemed to have the basic box steps down. So, as they danced, Elsa asked a question, and found she was talking in time to the music.

"This keeps us

In one place,

How do we

Move around

The floor?"

"I steer, you follow my lead, here I'll show you how!"

Around the room they went, and Elsa began to feel grand, grown up and elegant.

"How do you

Spin me a-

Round?"

"My, but you're becoming quite daring! Alright, when we do the second step, the sort of diagonal, I hold my arm up and you pivot."

Anna had overheard them, "Here, watch, I'll show you!" Anna and Kristoff demonstrated twice, and then Elsa tried, turning gracefully, surprising her partner, and giving him a very happy smile.


End file.
